


Pokemon: The Legends of Sinnoh

by Battler127



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Character Development, Characters to be added, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Humor, Headcanon, Light-Hearted, POV Third Person, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Journey, Socially awkward, Walkthrough Fic, will get DARK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22294789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Battler127/pseuds/Battler127
Summary: Lucas was rather content with staying in Twinleaf Town where he was raised, even with the hyperactive Barry as a best friend. He had no plans to go on a journey whatsoever. However he eventually finds himself with a Pokemon and one thing leads to another leading him to a journey. One filled with uncertainty as a group begins to play God in the background, one wanting to change the world.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Getting a Pokemon

Another day in Twinleaf Town, that’s how one Lucas Diamond Anderson saw it.

The young fifteen year old boy smiled as he sat on a chair by the window, watching the morning light shine above the sky, his black hair messy showing that he just woke up along with tired gray eyes, yet he was already dressed with a black vest over a white undershirt, baggy jeans, a red scarf and gray shoes that were red on the front.

A red hat was next to him on the windowsill as he sighed in satisfaction.

He was always one to take things slow, wanting to enjoy the moment as opposed to… Someone else, but that was a problem for another time.

Right now however, Lucas wanted to just relax, perhaps take a nap? Even though he just got up it was the best day to do so, especially with how he could possibly sleep beneath his favorite tree in the backyard, letting the wind blow while the sun kept him warm.

That plan however went out the window in the middle of a Tauros stampede as he heard footsteps rushing up the stairs with Lucas barely holding back another sigh when the door to his room was flung open not even a second later, showing that the person who entered had an aversion to knocking.

So he placed his hat on his head and turned to greet the intruder who had wild yellow hair and orange eyes, wearing a jacket with orange and white stripes, gray pants and brown boots.

Here was Barry Pearl Knight, Lucas ‘best friend’ though he used that term very loosely.

Don’t get him wrong he doesn’t hate Barry, far from it, the two do get along to an extent to where he thinks of him as the brother he’s never had.

But they were complete opposites in terms of personality, enough to where people were unsure of how the two were friends to begin with.

While Lucas was calm and quiet, Barry was impatient and loud. Lucas was polite. Barry was blunt. Lucas had manners. Barry didn’t seem to use them.

You get the picture?

Seriously he could go on and be there for hours describing the differences between the two of them without barely scratching the surface.

“There you are!” Barry said not bothering to lower his voice while Lucas resigned himself to whatever Barry had planned for the day.

At least this way he won’t be bored.

Though they better not somehow end up being chased by a horde of Starly at Lake Verity again.

That was a nightmare of a day.

“Hey Lucas, did you just see the TV?” Barry asked running up to Lucas who blinked tiredly before it clicked.

Oh right, the regional Pokemon Professor was on a Talk Show that was set to air that morning describing his return after four years of being gone, he must’ve missed it.

“No I just woke up.” Lucas answered dryly, not even hiding a yawn. “Isn’t it a bit too early for all of this yelling?”

“It’s never too early!” Barry declared with fire in his eyes. “You may have missed it, but everyone knows that Professor Rowan is that real important guy who studies Pokemon!”

“No really? No wonder he’s called a Pokemon Professor.” Lucas said slowly clapping his hands at Barry for saying the obvious, though it was most likely ignored as Barry continued.

“That must mean he has a bunch of Pokemon, so if we ask him I’ll bet he’ll give us a Pokemon!” Barry declared, showing his plan for the day.

Lucas just stared at him. “You want to get a Pokemon today?” He asked to make sure he heard correctly.

Sure they were fifteen, the age to get a Pokemon for most regions is ten or fifteen like in Sinnoh and eighteen in Unova, so they would qualify. But Lucas was unsure if Barry having a Pokemon was a good idea, the guy could barely take care of himself.

Though it could help him matu-wait us?!

“Oh hey, is this a new PC?” Lucas blinked as he took his eyes off Barry for a split second only to see him in front of his computer before the blonde rubbed his hair showing his short attention span. “Wait, what were we talking abou-oh right, right! We’re heading to Sandgem Town to get a Pokemon, I’ll wait outside!”

Sand-.

“Barry what about-!” Lucas tried to say no, a little concerned right as Barry ran out of his room shouting.

“If you’re late I’m fining you Ten Million Pokedollars!”

“... The wild Pokemon between Twinleaf and Sandgem.” Lucas finished for the heck of it, groaning as he did a face palm.

Great, there goes Barry half-cocked as usual and he was going to end up getting dragged into it for the sake of making sure his friend didn’t get killed because of his impatience.

Maybe he could talk some sense into him-... This was Barry, he was born without sense.

Lucas was half-tempted to just go with his usual plan only to groan.

If he didn’t go, he would have to endure Barry pestering him until he went so being resigned, Lucas exited his room and walked down the stairs to see his Mom who held an amused look on her face, holding a cup of coffee while the News was on.

His mother Johanna Anderson was a young woman in her late thirties with mirthful blue eyes and blue hair that was styled in a bob with a red clip keeping it together, wearing a white sweater with a red apron over her blue capris.

“Morning Lucas.” Johanna greeted with a giggle, showing that she purposely let Barry in for the sole purpose of making sure her son woke up.

“Mom, couldn’t you have given me a warning?” Lucas asked with some slight annoyance.

“You know how Barry is, he was already in your room long before I could warn you.” Johanna said with Lucas giving her that. “He already left, you know how impatient he can get.”

Oh he knows that all too well.

“I don’t know what it was about, but he was sure in a hurry.” Johanna took a sip of her coffee before walking over to Lucas who shifted a bit.

He could tell his Mom what Barry had planned but he really didn’t want to get him in trouble, they were still friends after all. Besides, hearing Barry complain about getting into trouble is worse. And yes he was speaking from personal experience.

“Well I better catch up before he really does fine me.” Lucas said, despite knowing that Barry would never really fine anyone for being late.

“Just remember to stay out of tall grass, Wild Pokemon might attack you!” Johanna called out right as Lucas closed the door, startling some Starly who were out and about outside into flying off.

Lucas winced hearing that warning.

He’s going to get into trouble, he just knows it.

So with a sigh, Lucas began to slowly walk through Twinleaf Town, enjoying the calm breeze and warm air from the sun.

As he walked however, Lucas began to think.

Does he want a Pokemon?

Sure he knows what they are and sometimes fantasizes about having one enough to where he studied them obsessively, but he never did make a plan to actually have one. Especially since he doesn’t really have a dream like how Barry wanted to be like his Dad Palmer, he just never really considered it.

Making it to the edge of Twinleaf Town where Route 201 began, Lucas idly noted that Barry wasn’t there which made him blink.

There was no way he made it here before Barry, did he run ahead wanting to get a Pokemon?

He could seriously see that happening.

Paling a bit in concern, Lucas figured he better rush on ahead to make sure.

“Whoa!” Lucas turned to see a blonde projectile trying to come to a stop, skidding across the ground with dirt being kicked up, he barely registered that before it happened.

_THUD!!!_

Lucas was knocked off his feet as Barry crashed into him, the two becoming a pile of limbs as they were sprawled on the ground, dirt and dust caking their clothes while Lucas’s hat was sent flying with his eye twitching while Barry groaned.

You would think he’d learn by now to jump out of the way.

“What was that about-oh hey Lucas!” Barry said snapping from pained annoyance to looking happy.

“Barry.” Lucas drawled out in an annoyed tone. “What did I say about crashing into me?”

Barry just ignored that as he untangled himself from Lucas and jumped up, brushing the dirt off of him. “Sorry about that man, I had to rush home to grab my bag and journal.” He said while Lucas pushed himself up to grab his hat to place it on his head, not even bothering to wipe the dirt off considering he was expecting to be crashed into again.

“No wonder I managed to beat you here.” Lucas grumbled to himself before he saw Barry run into the Route.

Rolling his eyes, Lucas followed after him.

* * *

The two spent the time talking as they walked down the dirt path, or rather Barry did the majority, even going as far as to rapidly re-enact stuff he’s seen by waving his arms around while Lucas just nodded to show that he was listening.

He did show some interest as Barry continued.

“I mean then Flint had his Infernape use Flamethrower to take down Aaron’s Drapion, it was amazing!” Lucas felt his lips curl up in a smile as Barry had stars in his eyes. “Infernape is such a cool Pokemon, I hope to get one someday.”

Infernape were said to be pretty hyperactive due to their energy… It sounds like the perfect Pokemon for Barry if Lucas was being honest.

“Then against Bertha he was like Pow! Bam! Whoosh!” Barry was jumping from foot to foot, trying and failing to repeat what he saw. “Just imagine how cool it would be to meet any of them.”

“Just as long as you don’t act like a rabid fan.” Lucas brought up only for Barry to flinch rather violently.

“Oh come on that was just one time!” Barry complained about ‘that’ being brought up. “I was six!”

Lucas just shrugged, not even bothering to keep that part going before they came up against a problem that he was expecting.

Their path being blocked by tall grass, the type of grass that Pokemon liked to hide in.

“Well looks like our journey stops here.” Lucas said in a tone of feigned sorrow. “I guess we’ll have to go home.”

“Wah? Is it because of the tall grass?” Barry asked with a laugh at how Lucas was acting. “Don’t sweat it, I have an idea to help us out!”

Lucas sighed.

Whenever Barry said the words he had an idea, that meant a lot of things that weren’t good.

Just like that time he came up with a foolproof plan of climbing a tree to skip tall grass when they were kids only for Burmy’s to tie them up with String Shot.

Man the trouble they got into for that one when Johanna found them. Her temper would probably make her Kangaskhan, Jumpy, afraid of her.

“You know how wild Pokemon jump out when you go into the tall grass?” Barry asked not even caring if Lucas was paying attention or not. “So, what you do is scoot over to the next patch of grass before any wild Pokemon can appear, if we can keep dashing we’ll make it to Sandgem Town without running into wild Pokemon!”

“Were you dropped as a child?” Lucas couldn’t help but ask in disbelief, seeing all the holes in that plan.

“Hey I haven’t been dropped since I was three!” Barry protested making Lucas stare. “It’s why Mom wouldn’t let Dad hold me.”

He was kidding.

Barry coughed to regain some composure. “Just trust me,” He said right as he took off with Lucas trying to stop him. “Here we go!”

“ _HOLD IT!_ ” A voice screamed out actually succeeding in making Barry stumble to a stop while Lucas jumped, the two turning towards the voice.

The owner of said voice was a tall elderly man in his sixties with spiky white hair and a full face beard, wearing a long brown coat over a white shirt and blue vest.

Lucas was certain he’s seen this man somewhere before while Barry actually went quiet.

The man took the time to observe the two, his eyes narrowing though they did show some concern. “You two don’t appear to have any Pokemon between you,” He said in a gruff, stern tone. “What are you thinking going into the tall grass?!”

Barry was still silent as he stared at the man.

“Uh Barry?” Lucas waved a hand in front of his face, some concern showing in his eyes. “Not that I don’t enjoy you being quiet but this is strange for yo-.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re Professor Rowan!” Barry shouted with stars in his eyes. “This is amazing, I can’t believe we’re actually meeting you!”

Lucas twitched. “And all’s right with the world.” He muttered annoyed at worrying for nothing.

“Oh man I have no idea what to say, this is even better than meeting a Pokemon!” Barry gushed leaving for Prof. Rowan to blink at this reaction.

“Meeting a Pokemon, they tried to go into the tall grass because they wanted a Pokemon,” He theorized to himself while Lucas was trying to let Barry know he was gushing. “Hmm… What to do?”

“I am not!” Barry protested towards Lucas making Rowan look towards them.

“Yes you are.”

“Their world would surely change if they were to meet Pokemon,” Rowan muttered in thought, actually considering something. “But is it right for me to put them on that path?”

Wanting to know more about the two before coming to a decision, Rowan went to get their attention as they seemed to be arguing about-... What in the world are they talking about?

It seemed that during his thinking they started a whole other conversation.

“That wasn’t my fault and you know it!” Barry had his arms crossed while Lucas had his face in his hands. “Parties were supposed to be fun.”

“Parties aren’t supposed to have cake splattering everywhere, I’m surprised we didn’t get into trouble when you pulled that,” Lucas muttered, having some flashbacks. “And that’s not even counting the time you tried to rope your Dad’s Dragonite into flying us into space because you heard about Moon Stones.”

Sure they were four at the time, not knowing anything about anywhere outside of Twinleaf Town but it was a hassle to deal with.

Prof. Rowan blinked at hearing that, not sure if it was wise to give them a Pokemon after hearing that, though he did find it interesting that the parent of this Barry had a pseudo-legendary.

“I still say it would’ve been awesome.”

“We would’ve suffocated!” Lucas finally yelled before Rowan had enough.

“You two, you love Pokemon right?” He asked, confusing the two fifteen year olds.

“Huh?” Lucas asked while Barry laughed.

“Of course, who doesn’t?” Barry was hopping from one foot to another. “They’re amazing, to see them all, that would be a dream come true right Lucas?”

“Well it’s impossible to see them all, but I would be happy to see a lot of them.” Lucas admitted even though he would most likely stay home with one Pokemon than travel.

“Hey don’t be a buzzkill,” Barry admonished, placing his elbow on Lucas shoulder to lean on him a bit. “Now you can ask us a thousand-no a million times Professor and our answer will always be the same!”

Lucas gave Barry a look telling him to get off of him while Rowan began to stroke his beard in contemplation.

He wasn’t sure at first given how impatient and unruly the blonde was, especially overhearing their argument but the way they’re acting right now showed how they felt about Pokemon.

Still…

“A pair of reckless kids who foolishly tried to enter tall grass without Pokemon of their own,” Rowan commented with Barry wincing at the stern tone that held the promise of a lecture. “It worries me what people like that would do with Pokemon.”

“Uh… Well I uh-.” Barry glanced around before seeing Lucas frowning at the man.

He thought Lucas was annoyed at the man for lecturing them when in reality it was how Rowan hinted that Barry would mistreat any Pokemon when that was the furthest thing from the truth.

Say what you will about Barry, he would love the Pokemon unconditionally.

“Well then forget about me but give a Pokemon to my friend here,” Barry said while Lucas gave him a look of shock while Rowan pursed his lips at hearing that. “I mean, it was me who tried to go into the tall grass and all, Lucas was even warning me of how bad of an idea it was.”

“Barry.” Lucas said, surprised at that, knowing how much the blonde wanted a Pokemon and to hear him give up the chance to even consider getting one just to ensure Lucas got one nearly made him gape at him before coming to a decision.

There was no way he would accept one unless Barry got one too.

Lucas was about to voice that while Rowan actually chuckled, some of his stern demeanor disappearing. “How big of you, not many people would do that,” He said, seeing that there was more to Barry than his recklessness. “Very well then, I will entrust you both with a Pokemon.”

“W-Wha?” Lucas asked with widened eyes while Barry’s face began to give off the biggest grin around.

“However!” Just like that Rowan held a stern look. “You must promise me that you will never endanger yourselves so recklessly again.”

Lucas could only nod in disbelief while Barry kept nodding his head rapidly.

“Now then-... Hm?” Rowan reached down to grab something only to notice that he was missing his briefcase. “Where did-?”

“Professor!” The voice of a young girl made them all turn to see a girl who looked to be around the same age as Lucas and Barry with shoulder-length navy blue hair and blue eyes wearing a black V-neck dress over a white blouse, a pink skirt and a white beanie with a pink Pokeball logo on the front. Gold hair clips kept her hair on the side straight and she wore pink short boots with knee-high black socks.

She seemed to be carrying a briefcase for some reason.

Lucas couldn’t help but stare as the girl was paying more attention to the Professor, not seeing the two boys.

There was a certain amount of elegance to her, one might've actually mistaken her for a princess.

Then he realized how much he was staring and quickly looked away in embarrassment, not wanting to seem like a creep.

“You left your briefcase by the lake-,” She began only to notice the scene in front of her. “Is something wrong?”

She looked from Rowan to the two boys seeing the blonde looking very excited while the one in the hat had a red face and was looking away.

Was he sick or something?

“Ah Dawn nice work,” Rowan said with a proud smile at his assistant. “What I was about to do was entrust these two with their very own Pokemon.”

Barry cheered by jumping into the air before pulling Lucas into a headlock. “You hear that Lucas?!”

Lucas couldn’t answer because he was trying to breathe while he struggled a bit, his shyness disappearing due to the need for air.

“P-Pardon?!” Dawn asked in surprise at how the Professor was willing to do that. “Those Pokemon are hard to replace, are you sure about giving them away?”

“Dawn we exist side-by-side with Pokemon, there comes a time when people should meet Pokemon,” Rowan said, understanding her worries while he crossed his arms. “There is a world that should be explored together, for them this is that day and the place is here-.”

He turned back to the boys only to be taken aback as Barry was still cheering while Lucas was turning blue and struggling even harder.

“Barry was it?” Rowan asked, earning the blondes attention. “I think Lucas might need some air.”

“Hu-oh crap!” Barry quickly let go of Lucas who began to greedily breathe in air. “Sorry man, my bad.”

“Are you trying to kill me?!” Lucas yelled as he coughed while Barry laughed sheepishly.

Prof. Rowan then opened the briefcase showing three Pokeballs inside, the red part of the Pokeballs were see through to show the Pokemon themselves.

“From left to right we have Turtwig a grass type, Chimchar a fire type and Piplup a water type.” Prof. Rowan explained with the two paying close attention. “Go ahead and choose.”

It was quiet before Barry spoke up. “Hey Lucas how about you choose first?” He suggested earning a confused look. “Think of it as an apology for accidentally choking you, besides I’m practically grown-up so I have to show some class.”

Lucas didn’t believe that for one second. “You just want me to pick first so you can get the type advantage.” He deadpanned given how it was the main three elements they were given a choice of.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Barry denied rather quickly. “I’m hurt that you would accuse that of me! Hurt and a little hungry.”

“We did skip Breakfast to come out here.” Lucas agreed as he was hungry before realizing that they were getting off track… Again. “Um anyways which one?”

After a few seconds, Lucas chose the Grass Type Turtwig, actually interested in that one as he knew that it was a Defensive based Pokemon so it could take a few hits if trained correctly.

Clicking the Pokeball, a white light shot out turning into a small green turtle with a twig on its head that held a leaf on both sides. It had a brown shell, yellow feet and a yellow jaw along with yellow and black eyes.

Turtwig, the Twig Pokemon gave a yawn looking around before tilting its head at Lucas. “Twig?”’

“Hi there.” Lucas said with a friendly smile reaching out only for the Turtwig to do something he didn’t expect.

It jumped up and bit his head.

Lucas felt his eyes widen at that while Barry gaped, Dawn looked shocked and Rowan only raised a brow while the hat wearing boy began to scream. “ _GET IT OFF ME!_ ” He shouted trying to pull the Turtwig off who only tightened its grip.

“Hm that’s strange, Turtwig shouldn’t know bite yet.” Rowan commented as if that was the problem.

“Professor!” Dawn gave him a bit of an appalled look for how he seemed to be handling this.

“Look closely at the Turtwig Dawn,” Rowan said with a hint of a smile showing, confusing Dawn who did so only to see glee in the Turtwigs eyes. “He’s just showing affection for Lucas there. Quite a surprise that it’s happening this soon.”

Lucas hearing them slowly stopped freaking out, though he did still find this rather uncomfortable as the Turtwig acted like he was teething.

“Pft.” Barry covered his mouth trying not to laugh, making Lucas give him a death glare before he managed to pry the Turtwig off of his head.

“Well that was a thing,” Lucas couldn’t help but say as Turtwig gave him a smile that he eventually returned. “Nice to meet ya.”

If anything Turtwig’s smile got wider. “Twig, Turtwig!” He said in a friendly tone.

“Alright now for my Pokemon,” Barry said, grabbing the middle one. “Chimchar I choose you!”

Pressing the button, the fire monkey Pokemon came out the same height as Turtwig, with red-orange fur and cream skin, a flaming tail on his butt along with large ears and green eyes in the center of red spots though the eyelids were shown to be cream when he blinked, the wind blowing his flame like tuft on the top of his head.

“So cool, we are going to be the best team out there Chimchar!” Barry said with Chimchar tilting his head before grinning as he climbed up Barry, perching on his shoulder.

“Char!” Chimchar agreed, apparently liking Barry’s enthusiasm.

“Both of them are rather affectionate, interesting could it because they like you two are fellow newcomers to this world or do they sense something about you both?” Rowan questioned before glancing at his wristwatch. “Ah I need to head back to the lab, should you two have any questions come visit my lab in Sandgem Town, with your Pokemon you should easily make the journey.”

With that said he took off walking with Dawn quickly closing up the suitcase. “Professor! Wait for me!” She called out, accidentally bumping into Lucas in her hurry. “Apologies!”

“It’s fine.” Lucas went to say only it came out as a bit of a squeak while Barry waved good-bye to her and Rowan until they were out of sight.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Lucas smiled at Turtwig once more before he saw the look Barry had.

“Whatever it is, no.” Lucas said immediately, knowing that look fully well.

It was one that promised trouble.

“Oh come on, we’re both Pokemon Trainers now you know how it is when two trainers meet right?” Barry let that die as he grinned.

Resisting the urge to point out that they didn’t just ‘meet’, Lucas caught wind of the meaning. “You want to battle?”

“Yes, I’ve waited years to say this but Lucas I challenge you to a battle!” Barry declared pointing at his friend right as Chimchar jumped off of Barry’s shoulders with an eager look.

That was met with Turtwig jumping out of Lucas’s arms to meet Chimchar’s gaze with a determined look.

Turtwig made a taunting noise as he drew a foreleg across the dirt while Chimchar hopped in place with a grin, his blood pumping.

Seeing no way out of this, Lucas sighed and got ready. “If I’m doing this, I’m doing it to win, get ready for Turtwig and I to put that fire out.” He said knowing from reading that Chimchar unlike Charmander can put their fires out willingly to avoid starting a fire.

“Big talk from you Lucas.” Barry teased fidgeting rather excitedly. “Alright let’s do this, Chimchar use Scratch!”

Chimchar moved in and raked his claws across Turtwig who grimaced a bit in pain before the fire monkey did a flip to make some distance giving a cry that sounded like a taunt, making Turtwig give a look.

Not liking that, Lucas gave his order. “Use Withdraw!”

Tucking his legs and head into his shell, Turtwig was surrounded by a red aura showing an increase in defense.

“Keep the scratch up!” Barry cheered as Chimchar rushed at Turtwig, raking his hands left and right while Turtwig kept using Withdraw. “You know you have to attack at some point right Lucas?”

“Oh I know, why do you think I used Withdraw to stave off your attacks?” Lucas asked, making Barry’s eyes widen in realization. “Now Tackle!”

With speed that Chimchar wasn’t expecting, Turtwig came out of the shell and launched at Chimchar’s stomach, sending the monkey rolling, injured but not out.

“Tackle again!” Lucas ordered with Turtwig running at Chimchar.

“Counter with Scratch!” Barry said going with offense over defense.

He was surprised when Turtwig won the physical stalemate that followed due to his increased Defense even though he was close to red, it took two Tackles for Chimchar to be down in yellow.

‘ _Huh this is pretty fun._ ’ Lucas thought to himself as he recounted his strategy.

Chimchar was both physically stronger and faster than Turtwig so he knew that the best way to win was to increase the Grass Pokemon’s defense, now he’ll be able to tank a few more hits and if all goes well he could win.

“Another Tackle!”

‘ _This is bad._ ’ Barry thought now on the defensive. “Chimchar dodge and use Leer!”

If he could undo the defense increase he can win this in one hit.

Chimchar did so with Turtwig being surrounded by a blue aura, dodging the Tackle, but Turtwig kicked off a tree to ram into him showing that the tiny leaf Pokemon was good at thinking on the fly.

“Down to the wire hey Lucas?” Barry asked, loving every second of this battle. “But this is where we hit our stride!”

This was what he dreamed of doing, becoming a Trainer and perhaps someday he’ll challenge his Dad to a full six on six battle.

To fight him was the goal of his life.

And it was even better that his very first opponent was his best friend Lucas.

He wasn’t blind in knowing that a lot of times he did end up annoying Lucas, just like how he annoyed a lot of people back in Twinleaf Town into avoiding him. He couldn’t help it that he was hyper, it was who he was due to his ADD.

But Lucas… He never avoided him.

Like him, Lucas never really had any other friends in Twinleaf Town, his social anxiety always drove people away until Barry managed to break him out of it.

Sure Lucas did complain and at times made jokes at Barry’s expense but when it came down to it they always hung out and had each other’s back growing up. Maybe it was out of both of them wanting a friend or perhaps they just grew so used to each other that they just kept hanging out?

Lucas would say they were the opposite of each other, but deep down Barry knew they were the same.

And that was proven as Lucas gave an excited grin showing more energy than usual. “Don’t count us out either Barry, we’re going all the way!” He said before snapping his fingers. “Finish this up Turtwig with Tackle!”

‘ _No time to dodge._ ’ Barry thought knowing that it would be useless so he went offensive. “Counter with Scratch!”

Both Starter Pokemon lunged at each other, their attacks doing considerable damage, especially since Chimchar managed to score a crit taking Turtwig’s HP down to the red, nearly knocking him out as he was barely standing.

But Turtwig’s tackle took care of the rest of Chimchar’s health and he fell over, but not without smiling as he had fun in this battle.

Turtwig grinned while Barry groaned. “Aw man we lost,” He complained but he had a grin showing that he didn’t really mind. “Oh well great battle Lucas.”

“Right back at ya,” Lucas said surprised at how fast his heart was beating before he noticed how tired Turtwig was and pulled out his Pokeball. “Great job Turtwig, take a rest.”

Turtwig breathed out a sigh of relief right as the red light enveloped him, pulling him back into the ball.

He’ll ask Mom for a Potion to use on him considering it would be suicide to try and rush to the Pokemon Center given how Sandgem Town was at least a good hour away by walking.

“Thanks for the effort Chimchar,” Barry did the same thing, returning his Pokemon. “Don’t worry, we’ll get them next time.”

Once Chimchar and Turtwig were returned, Barry squealed-yes he actually squealed though he would forever deny that.

“We’re real trainers, this is the best day ever!” Barry shouted in excitement, pulling Lucas into another headlock, only this time not too tight showing he was being careful.

“Yes we’re trainers, now let me go!” Lucas protested but he couldn’t help the laugh that was threatening to escape.

He has his very own Pokemon and won his first battle, sure the idea of travelling never did cross his mind, but perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to see the rest of Sinnoh?

Maybe along the way he’ll decide what he wants to do with his life?

Only time will tell.

**_To Be Continued…_ **

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Turtwig. (Male)

Lv. 6

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle and Withdraw.

(Barry)

Chimchar. (Male)

Lv. 5

Ability: Blaze.

Moves: Scratch and Leer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha yup a Pokemon D/P/P novelization, I really hope that you enjoyed the characters shown so far.
> 
> Especially the friendship between Lucas and Barry who I showed both having some issues. You can’t tell me that Barry doesn’t have some form of ADD due to how he acts in the game, it actually makes him a bit more interesting in my eyes if they would ever confirm it. Lucas on the other hand had some Social Anxiety growing up, though Barry managed to help him through a huge part of it.
> 
> And yes his thoughts on Dawn on the first meeting is the beginning of a 'crush' but that doesn't mean that it'll go anywhere and if it does I plan to draw it out instead of it being sudden.
> 
> This was actually a lot smoother than Trials of a Bug Catcher-at least for me, probably because there are hundreds if not thousands of Pokemon fanfics centered in Kanto, so it’s nice to type about somewhere else. This is an AU to my other Pokemon fic so Violet won't appear in this.
> 
> Other than that I hope everyone enjoyed the battle between the two friends-I’m using the team I have for Platinum and the Pokemon will only have four moves like the game, so I hope you enjoy.


	2. The Voyage of Lake Verity

Lucas chuckled three days later as he was watching some TV with Turtwig laying in his lap, looking at the show curiously.

They didn’t do anything for the rest of the day after their battle with Barry, both of them wanting to rest, especially after Johanna read Lucas the riot act after finding out how the two boys nearly went into the tall grass, but she didn’t ground him since he did actually have a Pokemon right now.

Plus with how it rained for the next few days, they had no reason to go outside, so both Lucas and Turtwig just got to know each other.

Right now, he was watching a cartoon that aired before he was born and he was happy to see reruns of it.

Nothing beats a classic like Darkwing Golduck.

Turtwig found the rather over dramatic character rather strange though.

“You know most kids your age would already be on their journey,” Johanna couldn’t help but comment, looking at the daily paper. “Especially after getting their Pokemon.”

“I’m in no rush,” Lucas gave a shrug while Turtwig yawned. “I mean, I want to really be prepared before going on one.”

“Well you should at least head to Sandgem Town and thank Professor Rowan for giving you your Pokemon.” Johanna suggested, leaving Lucas to give a bit of a nervous chuckle.

Yeah she had the point, especially since the man didn’t have to give him and Barry a Pokemon, so heading out to thank him would be the best thing to do.

“... Can we at least finish the show first?” Lucas asked considering it was his favorite episode.

Johanna just sighed and allowed it.

* * *

“Barry already left?” Lucas asked in a tone that showed he wasn’t even surprised while talking with June Knight, a woman who had brown hair, wearing a pink shirt and white pants gave a nod.

“Yeah, he took off towards Route 201 with his new Chimchar, I swear that boy takes more after Palmer than anyone else.” June muttered while Lucas sighed.

He should’ve guessed that Barry would go on ahead, why would he expect any different?

If anything he was surprised that Barry waited until today rather than leave after their battle, but he guessed that the blonde was smart enough not to rush off in the middle of the rain with a Fire Type.

So with a quick goodbye to June, Lucas quickly ran off towards Route 201 just in time to see Barry take down a wild Bidoof with his Chimchar who looked a bit scuffed up showing that he must’ve been training this whole time.

“Alright yet another win, you rock Igneous!”

“Igneous? You nicknamed Chimchar?” Lucas asked a bit surprised at how Barry didn’t go with something like Inferno or Flare.

Barry always liked the simple names, so Lucas was expecting it to be simple.

“Of course, it’s awesome to come up with different names and I don’t think anyone used the name Igneous before.” Barry said a wide grin on his face before he blinked. “Wait didn’t you nickname Turtwig?”

On hearing that, Lucas brought out Turtwig’s Pokeball in thought. “I never thought about it.” He said as he could see through the Pokeball that Turtwig was tilting his head curiously.

“You never think of something?” Barry asked in disbelief with a new smile on his face. “I don’t think that’s ever happened before, you’re always overthinking.”

“Oh shut up.” Lucas retorted at that jab, but he couldn’t keep the chuckle from his tone that made Barry’s smile grow wider.

“So what are you going to name him?” Barry asked curiously.

“I don’t even know if Turtwig wants a nickname to begin with.” Lucas told him, sending the grass type out as he yawned. “... Do you?”

After a few seconds of silence, Turtwig gave a nod ignoring how Chi-Igneous looked as if he wanted a rematch to show how much stronger he got.

“Sounds like he’s interested.” Lucas rolled his eyes at Barry stating the obvious and cupped his chin in thought.

What would be a good nickname for Turtwig?

Forest, Sheldon and Bush came to mind due to him being a grass type and having a shell, but they were quickly crossed out the moment he thought of them.

Perhaps Tank?

He would become one as a Torterra, but that would be too generic.

Bowser?

For some reason that name stuck around but he trashed the idea after mulling it over as it wouldn’t feel right.

“This is harder than I thought.” Lucas muttered to himself while Turtwig sat patiently.

Shellhead? No. Twiggy? No that one is terrible. Bonsai? Kind of fits due to Torterra having a tree on his back but he didn’t want to choose that.

Eventually the word Shield came to mind, Lucas actually considering that one.

It’s not as generic as Tank and whenever Turtwig does evolve he would become very durable so having him as a Shield for a team would be a good idea. Plus it sounded cooler than Tank.

So he looked at Turtwig. “How about Shield?”

Tilting his head to the side, Turtwig tested the name out in his head before grinning as he jumped up and down before he jumped to bite Lucas in the head only for the teen to throw an arm up in a panic as the grass type gently bit the arm.

“We seriously need to stop doing that.” Lucas said wincing in slight pain, now knowing it was how he would show affection.

“Alright with that out of the way, I have an idea I need to run by you.” Barry said, smirking at the display in front of him while Igneous was now on his shoulder.

Taking the time to gently pry Shield off of his arm only for the Grass type to jump and land on his head, Lucas frowned at Barry. “Should I be worried?”

“No-er yes? … Maybe,” Barry shrugged, his indecisiveness not helping with the unease that Lucas was now showing. “I actually want to find a way to thank Professor Rowan properly for giving us our Pokemon.”

Okay, that didn’t sound too bad, but years of being friends with Barry left Lucas with being skeptical. “You mean besides just walking over to thank him personally?” He asked as that would be a good way to do so.

It would also be pretty cool to actually visit Sandgem Town on their own rather than with their parents.

“Yeah but this is a good idea, trust me,” Barry said with Lucas now preparing for the worst. “You know that Lake we always played at? How they say that a Legendary Pokemon lives there right?”

It didn’t take Lucas long to realize what Barry had planned, dread filling him. “Don’t tell me.”

“You guessed it, we’re going to catch that Legendary Pokemon for Professor Rowan!” Barry exclaimed, ignoring the horrified look that Lucas was showing along with Shield and Igneous actually sharing a terrified look. “As long as we’re together nothing can stop us.”

“As much as I find your faith in the two of us flattering let me ask you something,” Lucas took a deep breath before screaming. “ _ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?!?_ ”

“Eh?!” Barry rubbed his ear as Lucas yelled at him, more shocked at him cursing as Lucas actually despised doing that.

“We barely got our Pokemon and you want to go after a Legendary, the type of Pokemon who can give the Elite Four a run for their money?!” Lucas asked having mild flashbacks to them promising Prof. Rowan that they wouldn’t needlessly endanger themselves again. “This is the worst idea you’ve ever had and that’s saying something.”

Igneous asked Shield if they could swap trainers as while he was confident in his abilities he didn’t want to fight a Legendary any time soon.

Shield shook his head rapidly, feeling like he had the sensible trainer and wasn’t giving him up.

“Aw come on Lucas trust me on this,” Barry said, not backing down. “Like I said we have nothing to fear.”

Lucas felt like strangling Barry at that moment with how stubborn he was being. “We have a whole lot to fear.” He protested right when Barry took off towards Lake Verity.

A bit panicked, Lucas ran after him to try and stop the idiot from getting himself killed.

* * *

“Alright, here we are!” Barry had an excited grin as they were both in Lake Verity, Lucas just now catching up looking like he wanted to kill Barry. “Let’s go get-huh? Who’s that?”

That question made Lucas forget his anger as he followed Barry’s gaze to see a stranger overlooking Lake Verity, his hands clasped behind his back.

The man had spiky blue hair and wore a gray sleeveless jacket over a white sweatshirt that had black sleeves and black pants.

Barry went to call over only for the man to speak. “The flowing time… The expanding space… I will make it all mine one day,” The man said in a quiet tone, so quiet that Lucas had to strain his ears to hear him. “Cyrus is my name, remember it… Until then, sleep while you can, Legendary Pokemon of the Lake Bed.”

With that said, Cyrus turned to leave only for his gray eyes to land on the two boys with the blonde one tilting his head curiously while the hat wearing one tensed from how emotionless the man seemed to look.

There was something about his gaze that made Lucas uneasy.

But Cyrus didn’t say anything about them eavesdropping, instead he walked right by them not bothering to give them a second glance.

“Weird guy,” Barry commented while Lucas gave him a sharp look. “I know, I know it’s rude to say it but you can’t deny it.”

Yeah, Lucas really couldn’t, though there was something strange about that man, something that was bothering him but he didn’t know what.

“Okay let’s get to catching the Legendary Pokemon!” Barry declared, fire back in his eyes while Igneous shuddered, but steeling himself for what will be a rather one sided fight for them.

A loud, reverberating cry sounded from the lake catching the attention of the two rookies with Barry already deciding that was the Legendary Pokemon while Lucas had his doubts.

“Alright, you ready Lucas?”

“Even if I say no you would do this regardless,” Lucas said with a sigh, knowing he failed in talking Barry out of this, so he was going to make sure the two of them didn’t get killed. “Alright, hand me a few Pokeballs and we’ll both give it a shot.”

It got silent as Barry stilled.

“Barry?” Lucas felt his eye twitch as he slowly realized what the problem was after a few seconds of silence. “You did bring Pokeballs right?”

“Er, I may or may not have forgotten about that little detail,” Barry admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a laugh, not too bothered by it. “Whoops.”

After staring, Lucas just brought a hand to his face, dragging it down a little. “I should really know to expect this type of stuff at this point.” He muttered not knowing why he was surprised when he really shouldn’t be.

Barry cupped his chin in thought before snapping his fingers. “Hey, do you think Professor Rowan will give us Pokeballs if we ask?” He grinned at his idea while Lucas gave him a blank stare. “He did say to come to him should we need any help.”

“While that’s true, I’m pretty sure he won’t help endanger us by giving us Pokeballs to catch him a Legendary.” Lucas deadpanned but Barry was on a roll.

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask, so how about a race?” Barry began to jog in place. “First one to Sandgem Town rules!”

With that said he took off before Lucas could even say no to the idea.

Rolling his eyes, Lucas calmly returned Shield before he followed after Barry at a more controlled pace.

He paused however at hearing the same cry again and turned with some apprehension only to see nothing before he left.

If Lucas was really paying attention he would’ve seen the air being distorted as an invisible Pokemon flew into view, watching him leave with curiosity.

* * *

Nothing really interesting happened for Lucas on the way to Sandgem Town except for a few wild Pokemon encounters like Kricketot’s, Bidoof and Starly’s that Shield took care of easily with him gaining experience in the process, the Grass Type thriving on these battles as he wanted to get stronger for his new trainer so they can see more of this Region.

Right now he was battling yet another Starly at the edge of Sandgem Town.

“Alright Tackle!” Lucas ordered after spending some time dodging and increasing his Defense with Withdraw, the Turtwig leaning to the left to dodge the bird Pokemon’s Tackle before ramming it in the chest, sending it flying where it took off, forfeiting the battle. “Another victory!”

Shield panted in response, out of breath from all of the battles showing that he needed to rest.

But he was beaming at winning again.

Clapping could be heard startling both Lucas and Shield as they turn towards it to see Dawn. “That was a nice battle.” She complimented a bit surprised by how in tune Lucas and Shield were considering they only met each other a few days ago.

Lucas spluttered a bit, not expecting to see her at this moment, or for the compliment. “T-T-Thanks.” He managed to get out before Shield who most likely sensed his uneasiness jumped up and bit his head gently to get his mind off of it. “Ah Shield!”

Shield just teethed with mirth in his eyes.

Dawn giggled a bit at seeing that as Lucas pried him off once again, with him looking red, having some trouble looking at her.

“So uh, what’s up?” Lucas asked internally wincing at how stupid he probably sounded.

“Your friend, er Barry was it?” Dawn asked to be sure with Lucas nodding. “Okay he’s talking to Professor Rowan right now and said you were on your way, so the Professor sent for me to meet you halfway.”

“Ah, makes sense.” Lucas muttered getting that while Shield yawned. “Oh sorry, do you want to rest, Shield?”

Shield just tucked his limbs and head inside his shell, answering Lucas’s question.

So he returned him.

“Shield?” Dawn asked at the nickname as Lucas put the Pokeball on his belt.

“Eheheh yeah I thought it was a good nickname.” Lucas rubbed the back of his head nervously before he took a deep breath to try and calm down. “You said that Rowan sent for you to meet me?”

“Yup, let me show you where the lab is.” Dawn offered walking off with Lucas moving behind her.

They walked in relative silence with Lucas not wanting to embarrass himself further while Dawn seemed to be enjoying the quiet a bit.

Maybe it was hectic working at the lab?

He did sneak some glances, but looked away, hating himself for being so awkward around her.

Eventually however, the two of them came to a stop at a rather big building as Dawn had a smile on her face. “Welcome to Professor Rowan’s Sandgem Lab, he’s just inside, so let’s-.”

She was cut off when the door opened as Barry ran out, only to slam right into Lucas who was moving to get the door open himself. The force of the collision sent the two flying back a bit back in a pile of limbs while Dawn watched on with a shocked expression.

“What the-oh hey Lucas, what took ya?” Barry asked with a grin.

“This is why I don’t like getting too close to doors.” Lucas muttered to himself.

“Are you two alright?” Dawn asked them with some worry at what happened.

“What, this? It happens all the time.” Barry said getting right up while Lucas pushed himself up.

“More times than I care for.” Lucas gave Barry a look that the blonde ignored.

Dawn looked between the two a little baffled by this being normal to them.

“Anyways I’ll see you later Lucas, I’m heading for Jubilife right now!” Barry declared much to Lucas’s shock before the blonde was gone.

Seeing him take off like that, Dawn couldn’t help but comment. “Your friend seems very impatient.” She said never seeing anyone like that before.

“Yeah that’s Barry alright.” Lucas agreed, not saying anything about the reasons why because that wouldn’t be any of her business. “Still Jubilife? I thought he would’ve headed back to Twinleaf.”

Perhaps Barry was using this to start his own journey?

The thought saddened Lucas a bit, because that would mean he wouldn’t see Barry all that much anymore, despite how he sometimes complained about the stuff that happens whenever he does see him.

“Well, let’s just go inside.” Dawn decided to continue with showing Lucas the lab.

While the outside looked rather bland, the inside of the lab more than made up for it with quite a few machines everywhere, Lucas had no clue what any of them did, but he felt they had to be important, so he ignored every temptation to look closer, not wanting to accidentally ruin something.

Instead he kept looking forward as Dawn led him through the lab until they saw Professor Rowan who looked a bit irked by something but it cleared off of his face on seeing Dawn and Lucas.

“Ah Dawn thank you for meeting up with Lucas,” He said to his assistant before turning to the other teen. “Lucas how are you and Turtwig faring?”

“I have no complaints and I’m certain that Shield doesn’t have any complaints either,” Lucas said with Rowan pleasantly surprised that Lucas already nicknamed the Turtwig. “I wanted to come by and thank you for letting me meet him… And I want to thank you for Barry in case he forgot.”

Rowan gave a low chuckle. “It’s quite alright, young Barry was very vocal about his gratitude with meeting his Chimchar, but I’m sure he would appreciate you doing that,” The man smiled at Lucas while Shield popped out with a smile, back on top of Lucas’s head. “It would seem that entrusting you with Turtwig was no mistake.”

Turtwig gave a cry of agreement showing that he was happy with his new trainer.

Lucas felt relieved at hearing that as he was worried that Rowan might change his mind and take Shield back.

It would seem that Barry probably forgot to mention his insane idea of trying to catch the Legendary Pokemon of the Lake, so he was definitely not saying anything.

“When I first saw you two about to step into the tall grass, I was shocked,” Rowan admitted with Lucas looking apologetic. “I was astounded by these foolhardy children, yet here you stand surprising me in a new way. Already there’s a bond between you and Turtwig despite it being such a short time.”

‘ _Is it really such a big deal?_ ’ Lucas thought in surprise.

Surely other trainers were the same way with their Pokemon, right?

“I want you to cherish that Turtwig of yours, do you understand?” Professor Rowan asked with Lucas agreeing easily.

“Of course.”

“I’m glad that you’re so kind to Pokemon,” Dawn said as she was worried about how Lucas and Barry would’ve treated the Pokemon that the Professor gave them. “If you weren’t I’d have to-... Oh I just can’t say it.”

‘ _What? Was she going to kill me?_ ’ Lucas couldn’t help but think a bit uncertain from how she trailed off there.

Okay, he’s slightly terrified of her now.

“Er-hem, let’s move on to the main topic,” Rowan took control of the conversation from there while Lucas was happy for the conversation to change. “There is something I want for you to do for me.”

Lucas looked surprised but he gave a nod after returning Shield due to his neck starting to cramp up a bit.

It does make sense, Rowan did give him Shield, so he does owe him. Doing something for the man isn’t out of the question.

“Allow for me to properly introduce myself. My name, as you know, is Professor Rowan. I study Pokemon,” The man began what had to be a speech that was practiced if Lucas was being honest. “First of all, I want to know what kinds of Pokemon live in the Sinnoh Region. To do so, it’s necessary to collect data using a Pokedex.”

“Pokedex?” Lucas asked, never hearing of one before.

“It’s a device created by Samuel Oak, the Pokemon Professor of the Kanto Region to record and create data for different kinds of Pokemon, there are only a few Pokedex out there with only a select few trainers using them,” Rowan explained to Lucas. “The most famous one being Red who owns one of the first two along with Green Oak.”

That caught Lucas’s attention whose eyes widened in shock.

Red? As in Kanto Champion Red? One of the youngest Champions around?! And Green Oak the Grandson of Professor Oak?

The ones who defeated their Regions Elite Four at the age of ten?!

While Barry always looked up to the Sinnoh Elite Four or his father Palmer, for good reason mind you, Lucas always admired Red and Green as a role model given what they accomplished during their time as a trainer setting quite the standard for any Trainer starting a journey.

“That is what I wish to ask of you,” Professor Rowan said, pulling out a red rectangular device that looked to be shaped like a game system if Lucas was being honest. “I want to entrust you with this Pokedex, will you use it to record the data of all the Pokemon in Sinnoh?”

Lucas was dumbfounded by what was asked of him while Rowan held the Pokedex out.

He only just now learned what a Pokedex was, only a few selective people had it and he was being offered one?

This was just-what could he say?

A part of Lucas was worried that Rowan was making a mistake. Why him?

He wasn’t anything special compared to other trainers.

In the span of four days, Rowan gave him a Pokemon and now this? The man barely knows him, why is he trusting Lucas with something so important?!

He guessed the uncertainty showed on his face because Dawn spoke up. “Do you need some time to think about it?”

“Hm, good call Dawn, it is a big decision.” Rowan said a bit apologetic by seemingly forcing this on Lucas.

Eyes widening, Lucas thought that he might’ve disappointed the man so he spoke before he could think. “I’ll do it.”

At first he didn’t know why he was worried about disappointing him, but later he would realize that he wanted to live up to the man’s expectations, no matter how unsure he was.

Initially surprised by how fast Lucas said that, Rowan gave a low chuckle. “Good answer,” He said, handing Lucas the Pokedex. “It’s a very high-tech device that will update itself whenever you encounter a Pokemon. I ask that you go everywhere to meet whatever kind of Pokemon you can.”

“And you’re not alone, I have one too.” Dawn said, pulling out a pink version of the Pokedex, surprising Lucas.

Then again he shouldn’t be considering Dawn was one of Rowan’s assistants so it makes sense she would have one.

“When you walked here from Route 201, what did you feel?” Rowan asked with Lucas blinking in confusion.

“Feel?” Lucas repeated not getting the question before he thought about it. “I guess… Excitement?”

It was the first time he could go through there by himself after all, that was something to be excited about.

Lucas couldn’t help but cringe at saying it in such a lame way, but how else could he really describe it?

“I’ve lived for sixty long years and even now I get a thrill when I’m with a Pokemon, be sure to never forget that feeling,” Rowan told Lucas who now got why he asked that. “There are countless Pokemon out there waiting for you to experience that thrill.”

“And I’ll be happy to teach you a few things on being a trainer and about the Pokedex if you want.” Dawn offered with Lucas appreciating that.

* * *

‘ **_Pokemon #387_ **

**_Species: Turtwig_ **

**_Gender: Male_ **

**_Height: 1’04_ **

**_Weight: 22.5_ **

**_Ability: Overgrow_ **

**_Moves: Tackle and Withdraw_ **

**_Info: The shell on its back is made of soil that hardens when it drinks water, a sure sign of a healthy Turtwig is if the shell feels a little moist. If thirsty the leaf on its head will wilt._ **

**_Needed for Evolution: Experience._ **’

“Interesting.” Lucas muttered as Dawn taught him how to use the Pokedex after having him type in his personal information.

It has the information of the Pokemon that’s registered to him, the food they enjoy on a regular basis, along with Pokemon he’s seen and the moves they can learn.

“The more Pokemon you scan the more information you unlock, it’s very useful for research,” Dawn said, taking the role of mentor very easily, smiling at the fact that Lucas was paying attention to learn everything he could. “For example, with my Piplup it tells me how proud they are and how to bond with him without damaging his pride.”

“Wait, you have a Piplup?” Lucas asked remembering that being the third Pokemon he and Barry could’ve chosen.

“Yeah,” Dawn looked a little embarrassed. “Even though I’ve been the Professor’s Assistant for a few months, I never did have a Pokemon of my own, instead I just borrowed a Pokemon when my job had me going to other places, but after you and Barry chose Chimchar and Turtwig, Professor Rowan noticed how saddened Piplup was and gave him to me.”

Huh, so while she was his mentor with having a head start on the Pokedex, she was still new to having her own Pokemon just like him.

So he wasn’t too far behind her in a sense.

“And you already know about the Pokemon Center and Pokemart, there really isn’t much for me to teach you at the moment.” Dawn looked thoughtful before realizing something. “Oh right, don’t you need to let your family know that you’re going to be helping Professor Rowan with the Pokedex?”

Lucas winced as he realized this.

Though it shouldn’t be too hard to convince his Mom considering she was hinting about a Journey earlier that morning.

“It’s still early in the afternoon, so if you hurry you might be able to reach Jubilife by the evening.” Dawn commented as after that it would take days to really get anywhere else. “Just be sure to heal up at the Pokemon Center before you go, it’s less dangerous that way.”

* * *

The walk back to Twinleaf Town didn’t take as long as the walk to Sandgem Town, but Lucas didn’t care as he had the time to think about what his next move would be.

True he’ll need to travel around Sinnoh if he was going to help the Professor with the Pokedex, but he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

There were many avenues that one can take when one has a Pokemon, but deciding which one to take was the hardest part.

Then there was the fact that he’ll have to catch other Pokemon because travelling around with only Shield would be asking for trouble, especially if he runs into any other Fire types or Flying along with Bugs and Ice Pokemon who can really do some damage to him. But he doesn’t want to just throw Pokeballs at anything that moves.

Lucas was positive that Barry was going to take the Gym Challenge as he wanted to eventually challenge Palmer who was just as skilled as the Elite Four in his own way. Dawn was obviously going to try and be a Pokemon Professor considering she’s working under one.

That just leaves him, what is his goal? What does he want to be?

Seeing Twinleaf coming into view, Lucas put that thought to the back of his mind and ran home, seeing his Mom watching the News.

“Hello Lucas, I take it you got back from thanking Professor Rowan?” Johanna asked with a smile at seeing Lucas only to look concerned when she saw a thoughtful look on him. “Dear, what’s wrong?”

Hesitating, Lucas told her everything that happened-leaving out the whole looking for the Legendary thing- and showed her the Pokedex while Johanna listened in silence.

“Wow, the Professor asked for you to do something so big?” Johanna smiled proudly at her son. “Go for it, your Mom has your back.”

Lucas gave her a bewildered look that made her laugh.

“Lucas you’ve been cooped up here for quite awhile, many kids your age go on a journey in Sinnoh, don’t think I haven’t seen how unsure you’ve been the last few days.” Johanna smirked at seeing Lucas looking a bit embarrassed. “That’s why I was pushing for you to go on a Journey this morning, you need to spread your wings and soar.”

“But I don’t have wings.” Lucas couldn’t help but say in a bit of a joking matter earning an eye roll from his Mom.

“No need to be a smart aleck.” Johanna admonished him while Lucas snickered, feeling a bit better before she got up to walk towards a bookshelf. “Here, I got this to give you when your next birthday came up, but I think this Journal will be useful for your journey.”

“A journal?” Lucas wasn’t expecting that as Johanna gave him an empty notebook that he flipped through.

“I kept one when I was your age, I think that keeping one on your Journey would be a good thing, if anything interesting happens you can jot it down.” Johanna reached over and hugged him. “A Journey full of adventure, I envy you kiddo… It reminds me of when I first got my Pokemon. At least you won’t be alone, but please come back when you can, I’d like to see the types of Pokemon you’ve caught.”

“M-Mom?” Lucas whispered trying not to cry from this farewell before the doorbell rang.

“It’s open.” Johanna called out right as the door opened to show June.

“Excuse me, is my little Barry here?” June asked, looking around while she held a package.

“He was on his way to Jubilife the last I saw him.” Lucas answered truthfully, wiping his eyes to hide the tears.

“I-... I see,” June said, saddened that Barry didn’t think to come home to say goodbye to her but she was expecting it with how he was. “I wanted to give him this package before he left, but it seems that I missed him.”

“Not to worry, I think Lucas won’t mind taking it to him.” Johanna offered, given how Lucas would be heading to Jubilife anyways. “Right Lucas?”

‘ _When you volunteer me for something I don’t really get to say no without feeling guilty._ ’ Lucas couldn’t help but think.

He didn’t mind though because it would make June happier.

“I’ll tell him to call you whenever he can.” Lucas promised, seeing June smile in appreciation while she gave him the parcel.

“Thank you Lucas, you be careful on that journey as well.”

“I will.” Lucas promised, placing his new Journal and the Parcel in his bag.

He just needed to grab a few things and he’ll be all set.

His Journey was just beginning.

**_To Be Continued…_ **

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Shield (Turtwig)

Male

Lv. 7

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle and Withdraw.

(Barry)

Igneous (Chimchar)

Male

Lv. 8

Ability: Blaze.

Moves: Scratch and Leer.

(Dawn)

Piplup

Male

Lv. ?

Ability: Torrent.

Moves: ?

**_Journal Entry # 1_ **

Since Mom gave this to me, I should get into the habit of writing into it-... What does one write in a Journal if no one is reading it?

Well I guess the basics will do, the name’s Lucas and I just became a Trainer.

Nothing else really happened unless you count that weird guy at Lake Verity, but while he was a little strange he seemed harmless enough. I should probably stop so I could catch up with Barry and deliver the package. Knowing my luck he’ll probably run out to somewhere else before I could find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh this was pretty fun to type, especially with the world-building in this particular Pokemon world, still only a select few people have a Pokedex like in my other Pokemon story but there are a lot more Pokedex holders at this point. Plus I like the idea of adding the Journal Entries to help spice it up a bit in my opinion. That along with the interactions between Lucas and Barry which I hope is as hilarious to everyone else as it is for me.


	3. Arrival in Jubilife

“Thank you.” Lucas said with a smile as he got Shield back from Nurse Joy after making it back to Sandgem Town.

“It was no problem young man, we hope to see you again.” Nurse Joy said bowing her head with a kind smile on her face.

Clipping Shield’s Pokeball to his belt, Lucas exited the Pokemon Center, looking at the sky to determine the time, something his Mom taught him when he was a little kid.

It was late in the afternoon and it would take at least two hours to get to Jubilife City on foot.

If one added in the wild Pokemon encounters or the rumors of Trainers on the path then Lucas should get there by nightfall. Chances were that Barry was already there, but he had no clue for how long and Lucas wanted to keep his promise to June.

“Ah Lucas, perfect timing.” Lucas’s head snapped to the side in surprise when he heard his name to see Professor Rowan, who was holding his briefcase with a brown coat on, walking towards him.

“Professor?” Lucas asked, not expecting this. “Are you going somewhere?”

“To do some field research, Dawn will meet up with me in a few days to help, right now however she’s waiting for you on Route 202,” Rowan explained further surprising Lucas. “Best not to keep her waiting.”

“G-Got it.” Lucas stammered out about to head that way, but Rowan held up a hand for him to stop.

“But as I said this is perfect timing, I meant to give this to you at the Lab but it completely slipped my mind.” Rowan said reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a disc.

Lucas felt his eyes widen at seeing the disc knowing fully well what it was.

It was a Technical Machine, TM for short and TM’s were digitized Pokemon Moves that could be taught to Pokemon to teach them moves they would normally be unable to learn by themselves.

Like teaching a normal type like Rattata Ice Beam for example.

“I see you know what these are, this is the TM27, a move known as Return.” Rowan explained to the shell shocked Lucas who slowly accepted the TM with a murmured thanks. “While Return isn’t powerful in the beginning, if you teach it to a Pokemon you have a strong bond with it’ll grow in power.”

Lucas blinked, processing that information. “So the stronger the bond, the stronger the move?” He asked, with Professor Rowan giving a nod.

“Precisely. Normally a trainer would need a TM case to help teach it to your Pokemon, but your Pokedex should suffice with teaching it should you need it.”

On hearing that, Lucas was highly tempted to teach it to Shield to give him a stronger attack but he hesitated.

Sure he and Shield got along well, but they didn’t have a strong bond. More than that unless he was wrong, Return was a Normal Type move and while there wasn’t anything wrong with teaching a Pokemon a move that differs from its type, it would be even stronger should he get a Normal Pokemon to teach it to with thinking on the STAB element, or rather the Same Type Attack Bonus that comes with how a Pokemon fights.

Plus TM’s were only usable once, so he had to be careful in who he chose to teach the move to.

So with that in mind, Lucas placed the TM in his bag, not seeing Rowan giving him a look of approval as it showed that Lucas didn’t always make hasty decisions unlike when he accepted the Pokedex.

Rowan checked the time by pulling a pocket watch out, humming in the process. “I think we probably kept Dawn waiting long enough, I wish you luck in your journey Lucas.” The Professor said walking off towards Twinleaf Town, most likely heading for Lake Verity.

* * *

Just like how Rowan said, Dawn was waiting patiently near the tall grass on Route 202 using a towel to wipe dirt off of a small light-blue Penguin Pokemon with an amused expression on her face.

“Hang on Piplup, you’re almost clean.” She said giggling before Piplup used a Bubble attack on her face turning the giggle into a yelp. “Hey, watch it!”

Piplup puffed his chest out finding this a bit demeaning, but happy he got her back for laughing before hearing footsteps as Lucas came into view making him tense as he cried out a warning to make sure his Trainer knew someone was coming.

“Hm? Oh hey Lucas,” Dawn greeted, using the towel to wipe the water from the Bubble off of her face, relieved that he didn’t see her get hit with a Bubble. “Finally made it, hm?”

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were waiting for me.” Lucas idly scratched his cheek, unsure of what else there was to say.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t waiting for too long.” Dawn said now picking Piplup up as the Penguin looked rather content with being carried after deeming Lucas to be no threat. “I just want to ask, do you know how to catch a Pokemon?”

“Er w-well I’ve read about how but I’ve never actually seen how one does that.” Lucas admitted, his face flushing from embarrassment.

Just like battling.

“I can demonstrate it to you if you want.” Dawn offered with a polite smile, thinking he was a little embarrassed about not knowing too much about it.

Not that Lucas minded because it was for the best to learn how to actually catch a Pokemon safely there was a lot to be careful during the process. For example some Pokemon fight dirty and will attack the trainer if they’re not careful and then one has to think of what’s around them with the environment and the weather.

So he smiled and nodded.

“Great, let’s do this.”

With that said the two walked through the Tall Grass and soon enough a Bidoof rushed out, giving a cry at the two while Piplup jumped out of Dawn’s arms to give a grin of his own.

Lucas however scanned both Pokemon with his Pokedex only to be surprised by the basic info he got from it.

“ **_Piplup, the Penguin Pokemon. Because of its pride it hates accepting help from other people making it difficult to bond with others. It is a skilled swimmer however and can dive underwater up to 10 minutes to hunt._ **”

“ **_Bidoof, the Plump Mouse Pokemon. With nerves of steel, nothing can perturb this Pokemon. It is more agile and active than it appears._ **”

That was it, Lucas guessed that it didn’t give as much information because he didn’t catch them.

“Piplup, use Bubble!” Dawn ordered Piplup who gave a cry, shooting a barrage of bubbles from his beak that slammed into the Bidoof almost knocking him out with Lucas giving a start from how strong this Pokemon was.

“Now that Bidoof is weakened all you have to do is throw a Pokeball.” Dawn explained to him pulling one out, throwing it at the Bidoof.

The Pokeball wobbled for a bit before it stopped, giving a small clicking sound, showing it was captured.

“And that’s all there is to it,” Dawn said with a smile while she picked the Pokeball up, Piplup puffing out his chest obviously proud of his skills in easily defeating the opponent. “Obviously not every capture would go as smooth, it depends on where you are and how you do it, but you should be good from there right?”

Lucas gave another nod to answer her, the action making Dawn give him a strange look.

“You don’t talk much do you?”

It was something she noticed during the small interactions they’ve had.

Hearing that made Lucas chuckle nervously. “Sorry, I’m kind of awkward around people.” He explained earning a nod from Dawn, seeing what he meant. “But thank you for showing me how to do that.”

Reading about it and seeing it are two different things after all.

“It’s no problem Lucas, Pokemon are also easier to catch if you use moves to put them to sleep, poison or paralyze them,” Dawn continued with Lucas remembering that from his studies. “Here, I’ll give you five Pokeballs to start out with.”

With that said, Dawn pulled them out of her bag and handed them to Lucas.

“So any idea what Pokemon you want to catch?” Dawn asked curiously, watching Lucas place them in his bag while she closed hers. “Besides Bidoof you can catch a Starly, Kricketot and Shinx in this Route.”

Lucas paused as he heard the question as it would be smart to have a Starly as a flyer on the team would be a good idea and Shinx would be valuable to combat the flying weakness Shield has.

But after a bit, Lucas gave his answer. “I’m just going to use Shield for a bit.”

That surprised Dawn as most people would add to their team immediately. “Wouldn’t Shield get lonely if he was the only Pokemon around you?”

Fidgeting a bit, Lucas gathered his thoughts before explaining. “Yes-I mean maybe?” He said reaching up to adjust his hat, a habit of his whenever he gets nervous. “I don’t want to just throw a Pokeball at whatever moves and if I catch too many, I’ll have a hard time dividing my attention between them.”

Letting go of his hat, Lucas grabbed Shield’s Pokeball, looking at his Starter while he continued.

“I know by doing that, I’ll only be able to rely on Shield which is dangerous, especially if something happens to him. But by doing it this way, I can ensure he gets all the training and attention he needs before I think about adding another Pokemon to the team-and I’m rambling again.” Lucas stopped, going red as he let himself talk too much, over analyzing this like he usually did.

Thankfully, Dawn didn’t seem to mind, in fact she looked thoughtful. “I can see what you mean.”

Being the Professor’s Assistant, Dawn had a goal to try and complete the Pokedex for the Sinnoh Region by catching as many Pokemon as she could but to hear a perspective from someone who wasn’t the Professor or her family had her thinking on that.

While she wasn’t going to just drop her goal of completing the Pokedex, Dawn figured it wouldn’t hurt to think more on how to do it.

“It’s not bad to just have one Pokemon but when you get past Jubilife some people have up to three or four Pokemon, so you should be careful.” Dawn warned Lucas, making him nod.

“I might catch a Pokemon by then.” Lucas said but he smiled at Shield’s Pokeball. “But for now it’ll just be the two of us.”

Shield chose that moment to pop out, latching onto Lucas’s head with a soft bite showing his agreement.

“Is this going to be a thing?!” Lucas asked with a tinge of annoyance, though one could hear the humor in his tone while Dawn giggled at how the two were being.

“Well I wish you luck then Lucas, I’ll go on ahead to Jubilife, the Professor wanted me to deliver something to the Trainer School there.” Dawn picked Piplup up as the Penguin gave a smug look to Shield due to the difference in their strength that Shield met with a glare of his own, showing a competitive streak between the two. “Be careful.”

“You too.” Lucas called out with Dawn leaving right as Shield finally let go of his head, landing on the ground. “Alright Shield, let’s get some battles in on the way.”

A gleam appeared in Shield’s eyes at those words.

Surprisingly, the two didn’t run into a wild Pokemon, instead they ran into a trainer after a bit. A young looking kid who wore an orange shirt, a blue cap and shorts. “Hey you up for a battle?” The Youngster asked, holding a single Pokeball.

“How many Pokemon?” Lucas asked hesitantly.

“Just one on one.” The Youngster answered with a shrug. “The name’s Tristan.”

“Lucas.”

“Alright, here we go Starly!” Tristan cheered, throwing out his bird Pokemon while Shield got in front of Lucas excitedly. “Start off with Growl!”

The Starly flew around Shield with a growl, Shield being covered in a blue aura showing his attack going down.

Lucas took the time to scan the Starly with the Pokedex while Tristan raised a brow at what he was doing.

“ **_Starly, the Starling Pokemon. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, if the group is too big they will bicker. Though small, they flap their wings with great power._ **”

“Quick use Tackle!” Lucas ordered with Shield slamming into Starly by jumping into the air, showing that despite the decrease in strength the Starter was still pretty strong.

“Quick Attack!” Tristan ordered surprising Lucas as this showed how well trained the Starly was considering the wild ones only knew Tackle and Growl with the Bird becoming a blur, slamming into Shield, sending him rolling.

In response, Lucas called out Withdraw before the Grass dodged another Quick Attack, using the opportunity to slam into the Starly with a Tackle, scoring a crit that knocked it out.

“Whoa, that Turtwig of yours is pretty strong.” Tristan said in surprise, quickly returning the Starly.

Lucas grinned while pulling a Potion out for Shield, spraying him with it. “Thanks, you’re pretty good yourself, if that Starly knew Wing Attack we would’ve been in big trouble.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if we ever have a rematch.” Tristan had a grin on his face, pulling some money out to hand over to Lucas. “I’m heading to the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town, are you heading to Jubilife?”

Lucas gave a nod, a bit surprised by how well this conversation was going before realizing it was because of the adrenaline from the battle itself along with how friendly Tristan seemed to be.

“You should be alright then, good luck out there!” Tristan exclaimed running past Lucas.

* * *

“ **_Congratulations, Turtwig has learned Absorb._ **” The Pokedex beeped in a mechanical tone after two more Trainer battles, with Shield taking down a Bidoof and a Burmy.

“Absorb? That’s a good first Grass Move.” Lucas muttered to himself with Shield back on his head, looking very comfortable. “Especially since it also heals you, though Mega Drain and Giga Drain are obviously better, Absorb is good enough for now.”

And it would help immensely should they use it while training as Shield would be able to train much longer due to regaining health.

Shield listened to Lucas go on about it, just happy to have learned a new move.

Lucas looked back up, his neck feeling a bit sore from the weight on his head, but he didn’t say anything due to how comfortable Shield seemed to be.

“I’m actually surprised that we didn’t run into any wild Pokemon.” Lucas couldn’t help but say, given how they only battled Trainers.

Seriously, a two hour walk with only three battles?

But thinking on that, it would’ve been weird if there were more trainers on this Route given how it wasn’t that long of a walk between Jubilife City and Sandgem Town.

Looking up as he could see Jubilife in the distance, Lucas looked relieved because his feet were aching from how much he walked today.

From Twinleaf to Sandgem, back and forth and then to Jubilife?

Five hours of walking and if he continued past Jubilife it would take days to get to either Oreburgh or Floaroma Town.

While he wasn’t looking forward to that, Lucas won’t deny the wonder he felt while walking this far and he knew it would get better over time. So with a final push, Lucas ran towards Jubilife, surprising Shield who nearly fell off his head.

* * *

“What in the world?” Lucas muttered after getting directions to the Pokemon Center which was next to the Pokemon Trainer School.

The reason for his question lied in a man who was darting between the two in a rather suspicious manner, wearing a brown trench coat over a brown suit and loafers, his dark hair brushed over some wrinkles on his face.

Needless to say, Lucas was wondering if he should call the police when seeing this.

But he didn’t get a chance as the man looked his way and their eyes met with the man freezing in place.

Shield looked between the two in confusion before the man in the coat spoke up.

“Just now, you were thinking I looked highly suspicious weren’t you?” The man asked with Lucas’s eyes widening at that rather accurate assumption. “I see, perhaps I am being too hasty out in the open.”

“Um okay?” Lucas took a step back, thinking he should run inside of the Pokemon Center.

Seeing that, the man realized how this all looked and gave a warm smile, taking his wallet out, opening it to show a badge. “Don’t worry, I’m with the International Police,” He said surprising Lucas. “My name is-... On second thought I’ll only share my code name of Looker to you young man.”

“Looker?” Lucas asked, not expecting that.

“Young man have you seen anything suspicious around here?” Looker asked, with Lucas shaking his head given how he literally just got to Jubilife. “I see, that is rather unfortunate but not unexpected.”

“I-Is something going on?” Lucas asked not sure if he wanted to know.

Looker cupped his chin at the question, trying to decide if he could answer it or not. “At the moment nothing is going on, but that doesn’t mean that something won’t happen in the future, while I can’t share what that may be, I can say that you won’t have anything to worry about,” He finally said to the rookie trainer. “Just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine… Tell me, are you taking the Gym Challenge?”

“Gym Challenge?” Lucas asked, surprised by that as this was the first time that anyone has asked him.

It seemed that his expression was enough of an answer. “I see, you’re indecisive,” Looker commented before he pulled a blue camera-like device out of his coat. “Nonetheless, I think as a Trainer this device would be better off with you.”

He tossed it to Lucas who fumbled to catch it in his surprise as he recognized it as a Vs. Recorder.

“I obtained that recently due to a contest drawing but it’s useless with me,” Looker said walking by Lucas. “Remember to stay out of trouble young man.”

Lucas spun around to try and say something only for it to die as soon as he realized that Looker was already gone.

“That was… Completely random.” Lucas had no other words for it while Shield tilted his head a bit before he looked bored.

Seriously, what was that?!

* * *

“Thank you for calling me, it’s great to hear that you’re in Jubilife.” Johanna said in the Video Phone while Lucas was in the room he was renting out at the Jubilife Pokemon Center that had the basic bed, bathroom and TV.

Lucas smiled at his Mom. “It’s fine, I didn’t have too much trouble on the way, Shield and I battled a few trainers, we’ll look for Barry first thing tomorrow morning.”

Johanna gave a nod at his promise of doing that. “Be sure to stop by the Trainer School while you’re there,” She said to him. “It’s a great place for any trainer beginning their journey.”

“I will.” Lucas promised, finding that rather interesting before Shield popped out of his Pokeball and latched onto his head.

The sight of that happening made Johanna giggle on her side of the phone while Shield grinned. “Look at you two, best friends already.”

“I just hope he doesn’t do that when he evolves.” Lucas muttered trying not to imagine a Grotle or a Torterra doing this.

Shield let go, landing on the desk to lay down, tucking his head and limbs inside of the shell after hearing that.

He might find it hilarious to gently bite his trainer but he doesn’t want to kill him. He knew better than to try that when he evolved.

“So tell me everything that happened.” Johanna said, looking very interested in her son’s journey even if it’s only been a day.

Shifting a bit, Lucas spoke about everything that happened, leaving out that weirdness with Looker, not thinking it was anything to bring up. Nothing happened and he really doubted he would meet the strange man again.

Though he didn’t miss the gleam when he mentioned Dawn and how she showed him how to catch a Pokemon, seeing him smile as he spoke of her.

“Look at you making a new friend,” Johanna smiled at him. “It’s certainly been awhile since you tried making friends.”

“Mom I’ve never tried to make friends.” Lucas deadpanned as Barry wouldn’t leave him alone in the beginning.

“Oh don’t act like you’re not happy that you and Barry became friends.” Johanna knew exactly how her son thought, making him shift rather awkwardly.

He couldn’t really argue with that.

“And I’m happy you are too,” Johanna gave a bit of a sad smile. “You would always keep to yourself growing up.”

That was true, even with having one friend he always did his best to keep to himself, he just liked being alone to have some peace. Sure Lucas knew it wasn’t healthy but he rather enjoyed the solitude.

So the fact that he has actually made a new friend was probably what she saw as a sign of progress.

Honestly that was kind of sad.

Lucas gave a yawn, trying to hide it but naturally Johanna saw it and smirked. “Well I shouldn’t keep you up, you need your rest for your journey.” She said, glancing at the time. “Especially if you want to catch up with Barry to deliver the package. “Just remember to always check the news, you need to be aware of the weather anytime you’re travelling and you might see news about certain Pokemon migrating.”

“Yes Mom.” Lucas said with a smile, already knowing that due to her drilling it into his head to watch the news as a kid.

“And be sure to brush your teeth any chance you get and take care of your clothes, some people will judge you for your appearance alone.” Johanna continued, Lucas now getting a little annoyed. “And remember to change your under-.”

“Okay Mom.” Lucas quickly interrupted and he swore Shield who has been quiet this whole conversation was chuckling inside of his shell. “You don’t have to remind me.”

Seriously he’s fifteen he knows to change his underwear.

“Given how little you took care of your teeth when you were younger I would have to disagree.” Johanna pointed out before gaining a rather sly look. “And be sure to tell me more about your new _girlfriend_ next time you call.”

It got dead silent as Lucas stared at Johanna bewildered, seeing how much she emphasized on that before realization dawned and he went red in embarrassment.

“Mom, it’s nothing like that.” He said wondering why she thought that.

He barely knew Dawn and they were barely friends.

“Really? With the way you were smiling when talking about how she taught you to catch Pokemon I could’ve sworn.” Johanna said in mock confusion, the gleam in her eyes showing that she was having fun, it wasn’t often that her son lost his cool like that. “Did I ever talk to you about the Starly and Combees?”

“Goodnight!” Lucas slammed the phone on the computer, effectively hanging up looking like he was about to have a stroke.

Well he wasn’t calling home anytime soon.

Snickers erupted from Shield’s shell making Lucas give him a dry look. “Screw you.”

**_To Be Continued…_ **

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Shield (Turtwig)

Male

Lv. 9

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle, Withdraw and Absorb.

(Barry)

Igneous (Chimchar)

Male

Lv. 9

Ability: Blaze.

Moves: Scratch and Leer.

? (Starly)

Male

Lv. 7

Moves: Tackle, Growl and Quick Attack

(Dawn)

Piplup

Male

Lv. 11

Ability: Torrent.

Moves: Pound, Growl, Bubble and Water Sport

**_Journal Entry # 2_ **

Why does Mom have to be so embarrassing like that? Just because I became friends with a girl doesn’t mean anything. Note to self, never introduce Dawn to my Mom, last thing I need is her making insinuations and making my friendship awkward.

But enough on that, Jubilife is a pretty cool place, sure my feet ache from all of the walking but it’s worth it, I plan to explore it tomorrow while looking for Barry, I need to keep my promise to deliver the package. Though finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Anyways, besides learning how to catch Pokemon and making it here nothing interesting happened unless you count my encounter with Looker.

Do the International Police always act like that or is Looker a rather special case? Furthermore is he actually a member of the International Police or was he lying?

And if he is, why is he in Jubilife? Surely there’s nothing going on in Sinnoh, it’s relatively peaceful from what I’ve heard… Maybe it’s nothing.

Besides if something was happening it’s none of my business, I should only be focusing on my journey, nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright finally got this chapter done with the MC making it to Jubilife City, and yes he’ll only have Shield until he makes it to Oreburgh where he’ll end up with two more Pokemon, two right before and one while there. But basically it was more world building with various stuff and giving the characters a bit more development.


	4. Preparations

Lucas fidgeted as he exited the Trainer School the next day, looking for Barry only to be told he just missed the teen with him groaning in slight annoyance.

He swears someone needs to put a tracking chip in him, that would make his job a lot easier.

Then again even with it Barry would probably defy logic and still be hard to keep track of.

It wasn’t all that bad, he did manage to battle two younger kids who weren’t exactly trainers yet but they still had Pokemon, so Shield was able to get a bit more experience in.

They gave him a Potion in return, so now he was back out in Jubilife, wondering how he was going to track Barry down.

He can’t just walk randomly and hope to run into him-. Well he could but that could take forever.

Though perhaps he could meet him in Oreburgh considering he knew for a fact that Barry would attempt the Gym Challenge?

After all he would have to go there and then back to Jubilife so that would be the key?

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see Dawn exit the Pokemart while he walked past it, placing some newly bought items such as Potions and Antidotes in her bag.

She did glance up and see him, blinking in surprise before smiling as she approached.

“Lucas!”

Hearing his name made the boy glance up in surprise. “Dawn?” He asked in surprise. “I thought you had to meet Prof. Rowan at the Lake?”

“I still have two days before I do that, Prof. Rowan wants me to bond with Piplup before I do.” Dawn answered easily given how it wouldn’t take that long for her to get to Lake Verity from Jubilife.

Lucas raised a brow and looked for the Penguin leaving for Dawn to sigh.

“He’s in his Pokeball, Piplup tends to get a bit… Annoyed in a crowded area.”

Hearing that, Lucas understood considering how crowded the Pokemarts can get.

“So how are you finding Jubilife?” Dawn asked curiously, seeing Lucas give a bit of a nervous laugh at the question.

“Very different from Twinleaf, especially since I have to search the place to find Barry.”

Not only that, but he’s seen so many different Pokemon in this city that he’s never seen back in Twinleaf Town, all with their various trainers.

Pokemon such as Budew, Geodudes, Teddiursa, Machop, Shellos.

The city was certainly interesting, that’s for sure.

“I saw Barry earlier at the Trainer School, he said he was going to head up to Route 204 to catch a Pokemon before he goes to Oreburgh.” Dawn supplied the info with Lucas smiling at the helpful hint. “I can show you the way if you want.”

“Thank you, that saves me a lot of time searching.” Lucas had a grateful tone in his voice.

“You and Barry must be pretty close.” Dawn observed curiously while they headed North towards the Route.

“We’ve known each other for years, enough to where Barry barges into my room with little to no warning.” Lucas admitted, thinking back to all the times that happened.

Dawn looked rather surprised by that. “Do friends do that all the time?”

“Nah, only Barry does.” Lucas answered before the question really registered.

Why would she ask it like that?

“I see.” Dawn mused quietly.

They walked in silence for a bit, it seemed that Dawn was stuck thinking on something.

Instead of asking what it was, just in case it was a sensitive topic, Lucas decided a change in conversation was needed. “What’s it like being Prof. Rowan’s assistant?”

The question really surprised Dawn, given the look she gave him, not expecting it.

“Well,” Dawn stalled for a second to gather her thoughts. “It’s different then what I expected. We do a lot of field research, seeing how Pokemon interact with others in their natural environment. Sometimes we even see a Pokemon evolve.”

“Really?” Lucas didn’t expect that, having heard stories about how evolution works, never really seeing one.

Dawn smiled as she nodded in response. “I remember seeing my first evolution, it was a Kricketot turning into a Kricketune, the energy it gave off was amazing.”

There was a reason Prof. Rowan studied how Evolution worked.

Lucas took that in, wondering what his first look at an evolution would be.

Would it be Shield’s evolution? Or would he see a wild Pokemon’s evolution?

“Why do you ask?” Dawn returned the question towards him.

“Huh-Oh I was just curious.” Lucas idly messed with his hat, the two having to walk around another person to avoid colliding with them. “I’ve never really met anyone who was a Professor or was close to one.”

Letting go of his hat, Lucas placed his hand in his pocket where he kept the Pokedex, feeling the machine in there.

It was starting to become a slight form of comfort despite how unsure he was of being trusted with it.

They barely made it to the edge of Jubilife where Route 204 was going to be when Lucas suddenly jumped out of the way, surprising Dawn only to see Barry rushing past, the blonde skidding to a stop when it registered who he almost ran into.

“I’m not having you run me over a third time.” Lucas dryly said when Barry glanced back with a sheepish grin given how he doesn’t do it on purpose.

“Heh sorry Lucas, got a little excited,” Barry gestured to his belt where one could see three Pokeballs. “I have half my team done already.”

“Seriously?” Lucas asked in surprise, though he should’ve expected it. “Wait, that’s not important I have something for you.”

He felt like he should say that right before Barry took off again, something he’s had experience dealing with at this point.

“Um.” Dawn’s voice reminded Lucas that she was there, looking rather unsure if she should put herself into the conversation or not. “Does this happen often?”

“Yup.” Barry said with little to no hesitation whatsoever. “It’s pretty much tradition for me to run into him at this point.”

“... Wait, were you actually trying to hit me?” Lucas gave him a look while Barry just laughed in response.

Lucas wouldn’t admit it, but he was having a hard time not laughing at this small exchange.

“So what were you two up to while I was catching Pokemon?” Barry calmed down enough to ask, though he was jogging in place. “It’s strange to see Lucas hanging out with someone else.”

That earned him a glare from Lucas while Dawn answered. “He said he was looking for you and I remembered you saying you were heading out this way to catch a Pokemon.”

“I tried to catch you at the Trainer School, but you left before I got there.” Lucas crossed his arms to show his annoyance.

“Well of course I left, if I want to be the next Champion I need to build up my team!” Barry said like it was obvious. “Speaking of which, did you catch anything?”

“Uh no, I still only have Shield.” Lucas patted the Pokeball with some affection while Barry’s face fell, the energy actually disappearing from his body while his shoulders sagged in response.

“Wha? Seriously Lucas, you need to have more than him if you’re my rival.”

Any retort Lucas would’ve made died when that registered. “Rival? Wait when did we become rivals?”

“Since you defeated Igneous and me-.”

“Igneous and I.” Dawn interjected with Barry waving that off and continuing like he wasn’t interrupted, which made her frown with some slight annoyance.

“How can you not be my rival if you were able to do that?” Barry gave a grin with one eye closed. “That’s why you have to take the Gym Challenge, I need someone to keep me on my toes.”

Just like that Lucas remembered how Looker asked if he was taking the Gym Challenge and he looked down in thought. “I’m not so sure about me being your rival, you’ll probably have better luck finding a stronger one-hey!”

He was cut off when Barry took the front of his hat and pushed it to cover his eyes.

“Oh don’t you start that whole looking down on yourself you’re prone to doing,” Barry grinned as he had Lucas glaring at him again. “You’re always caught up in your head, just go with the flow.”

He then turned from Lucas to Dawn.

“How about you? You want to be my rival too?” Barry asked, looking excited at the prospect. “I remember seeing you with a Piplup last time we met, I think Igneous has been itching to battle him.”

“I see no reason to do so.” Dawn answered with no hesitation.

“Aw seriously, why doesn’t anyone want to be my rival?” Barry asked, the excitement changing to annoyance.

“You want the list?”

“... There’s a list?” Barry glanced at Lucas in surprise only for the teen to do a facepalm given how he was joking.

“There should be and I should add this to the list.”

In response to that, Barry quickly pulled Lucas into a headlock and began to give him a noogie, knocking his hat off. “Why not add this to the list as well?”

As Lucas struggled, Dawn couldn’t take it as she let out a small giggle at how they were being.

Eventually Barry let Lucas go as he quickly readjusted his hat after picking it up, ignoring how Barry was still grinning. “So what did you bring?”

Oh right, he actually forgot after being sidetracked.

Now that he thinks about it, that does happen a lot.

Not saying anything else, Lucas pulled the small package out of his bag. “Your Mom wanted me to deliver this to you,” He said, holding it out to Barry. “And be sure to call her, she was sad that you didn’t stop to say good-bye.”

Barry winced at hearing that.

In his excitement at finally becoming a trainer and starting his journey he didn’t even think about saying good-bye or to even call the other night.

“I’ll uh-do that before leaving for Oreburgh.” Barry said, sounding rather subdued while Lucas gave a nod before glancing at Dawn.

“Thanks for helping me find him, I would be searching for days if I was on my own.”

“I’m not that bad.” Barry protested, but it fell on deaf ears when Dawn responded.

“It was no problem at all.”

Barry pouted at that before tearing open the parcel with reckless abandonment, blinking in the process. “A Town Map? Wait, why are there two?”

“Maybe to ensure you have a backup?” Lucas deadpanned, earning a mock glare from Barry.

“Well I just need one, you take the second one Lucas,” Barry tossed it to Lucas, the hat wearing boy barely catching it. “Wait, Dawn do you have one?”

“I do.” Dawn pulled hers out and that was when Barry saw the pink device on her wrist.

“Hold up, you have a Poketch?!” He asked, making her tense up, while Lucas looked at the device in surprise. “Aren’t those like super rare and haven’t been released yet?!”

“Not exactly, I think there’s a promotional to get one going on.” Lucas remembered hearing about that while heading into the Pokemon Center the other night.

It was a small Pokegear/Nav like device created by the Berlitz family. Not really that much of a shock considering how wealthy and powerful the family was in Sinnoh. Seriously just about every business in Sinnoh was a branch off of the Berlitz Family.

They were pretty much like the Silph and Stone family.

“E-Exactly, I got one during the promotional.” Dawn said a little too quickly, but neither of the boys noticed that.

“Alright then come on Lucas, we’re going to get ourselves a Poketch!” Barry declared, throwing a fist into the air. “If you don’t hurry I’m fining you another million Poke!”

As he took off running, Dawn gaped. “A million Poke?” She glanced at Lucas only to see him rolling his eyes.

“He’s joking.” Lucas said, already used to Barry and his ‘fining’.

It was something he’s been doing for years after all.

“But he’s got a point, it would be cool to have a Poketch,” Lucas wondered what type of apps were on the Poketch given it’s new. “Though I’m happy enough with the Pokedex.”

After all, that was something only a small handful of people had.

So he was already luckier than most trainers and he didn’t want to push it.

“I take it you’re going to be heading back to the Professor?” Lucas asked only to be surprised when Dawn shook her head.

“Not yet, I still have time so I’m thinking about doing some shopping,” Dawn had her eyes on a pink coat for whenever she eventually headed for Snowpoint City. “After that I plan to bond with Piplup before visiting my family tonight.”

Lucas gave a nod, a bit surprised by how much detail she went into her plans, he would’ve been fine with just ‘Not yet’.

But then he thought back to her question earlier.

‘ _Do friends do that all the time?_ ’

The way she asked that made him wonder if she had any friends growing up.

But he didn’t ask that, not wanting to be rude.

“Alright, I hope you have fun with that.” Lucas waved good-bye with Dawn returning it, giving a smile of appreciation.

* * *

It was actually easier to get a Poketch then Lucas thought after two hours passed, looking through the blue colored one on his wrist while he carried Shield who was content with enjoying the warm air.

There was a bit of a survey questionnaire where one had to find three employees of the Poketch Company who were scattered throughout Jubilife and the questions themselves weren’t really that hard.

The trick was to find the employees.

“So we have a watch feature, a pedometer, a calculator, memo pad, kitchen timer, calendar, friendship checker and a coin toss.” Lucas mused as he looked through all of them in thought.

This was pretty cool if he was being honest and the kitchen timer would come in handy now that he was on this journey of his, considering whenever he did cook, he always used the stove timer at home.

Cooking was one of the first skills his Mom taught him to make sure he knew how to take care of himself. She figured it was needed after he was always eating something growing up.

That made Lucas pause as he realized that he didn’t really pack much in terms of food unless you count the trail mix, can of pringles and some wrapped sandwiches.

If he wanted to ‘cook’ something he would need to buy the ingredients.

And get the cooking ware to do that.

… And he should probably make sure he gets the right food for Shield, that was important too because he wasn’t just taking care of himself now.

That would extend to whatever Pokemon he catches.

Not to mention he needed to get the proper supplies as a trainer. He only had two Potions and five Pokeballs after all, not enough to get to Oreburgh.

“How much Poke do I have?” Lucas checked his wallet only to see 3900 Poke. “Nowhere near enough to get all of this.”

True, he could call and ask his Mom for some money to pay for the supplies. But he didn’t want to bother her with that.

His Mom already does so much for him that he didn’t want to ask for any more.

If he was going to be going on a journey he wanted to do it on his own.

The best way for a trainer to get money was to battle, thankfully the Pokemon Centers were always free to sleep at and healthcare for Pokemon was free so he didn’t have to worry about that.

Eating at the Center however wasn’t free, even if they got some funding from the League to ensure that every trainer can give their Pokemon the best care possible, they needed to make money on the side somehow.

Shaking his head to clear it, Lucas forced himself to focus.

He should just get the medicine and for food he can get bread and some fruit.

That would be well within his rather meager budget.

And if he was going to be battling for money, the Gym Challenge gave out a lot of money to challengers who overcame them.

So he would do that to get money and he can make sure the journey goes as smoothly as possible for him, Shield and whatever other Pokemon he catches. In return Barry gets him as a Rival like how he wants and he would be traveling to fill up the Pokedex for Prof. Rowan and Dawn.

Perhaps then he could find something he wanted to do?

Thinking it over once more, Lucas liked the plan and smiled, feeling pretty excited.

Passing by a TV Store, Lucas paused as it was showing the News, talking about clear skies for the next week, perfect weather for heading for Oreburgh City.

And perfect for finding good nap spots, though Lucas was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to do that for awhile.

Waiting to see if the News was going to continue for the weather, Lucas was slightly disappointed when it began to talk about the Poketch’s and Berlitz Industries, even going as far as to bring up a picture of the family showing a man, a woman and their daughter-.

Lucas blinked and stared at the daughter who had black hair tied up in a small bun by a yellow ribbon, wearing a rather elegant white dress with a blue stripe in the middle, blue accent on the bottom and stars decorating the fabric. Yellow eyes staring at the camera as she smiled.

Something about the daughter was familiar.

Probably because of how popular the family was, they practically run the business side of Sinnoh after all.

He’s pretty sure there was a magazine dedicated to interviewing the family one time that revealed her name to be Platinum Berlitz, it was one of the magazines that his Mom liked to read and discuss with June.

“Twig?” Shield tilted his head to the side as he saw the picture, but Lucas just smiled and continued walking.

No point in thinking over that, there’s no way he knows anyone like that, instead he has to worry about what’s to come.

It was time to do some shopping.

Once he has the right supplies they’ll stay for one more night at the Pokémon Center and then he’ll continue his journey.

* * *

“Shield, drop it!” Lucas was tugging on the bag of food he bought for the journey with them now being back at the Pokémon Center. “I know you’re hungry, I am too, but you can’t rip the bag open!”

It needs to last until the next city dammit.

He used every bit of his Poke to pay for the supplies he needed and he barely had enough to get food for three days, let alone the five it takes to get to Oreburgh.

So they needed to make it last!

“Shield come on, don’t be like this.” Lucas tried, but Shield still wouldn’t let go of the bag.

Seriously he’s been great the last few days, why is he suddenly acting out now?!

Shield tugged a bit more before suddenly letting go, the action making Lucas all on his back, the bag of food flying out of his hand, hitting the wall.

“What is with you?” Lucas asked, some annoyance showing while Shield sat down, snickering.

Giving Shield a wary look, Lucas got back up and grabbed the food, finally placing it inside of his backpack.

Apparently Shield was feeling playful.

That was proven as he jumped and bit Lucas' head who gave a deadpanned look while the grass type was teething.

But one could see a small smile if they were looking close enough.

“Alright that’s enough, we have a big day tomorrow.” Lucas gently chided his starter. “And I need to look over the map.”

It worked as Shield let go, placing his two front feet on top of Lucas’ head, ensuring that he wouldn’t fall over while Lucas was looking over the map, trying to plan out the trip to Oreburgh.

While he wouldn’t be able to plan for everything, he did want to plan as much as he could, especially with what Pokemon he would be able to run into to catch.

After all he was behind on catching a Pokemon and knew that the next time he met Barry the blonde would no doubt challenge him to a battle.

So he wanted to have more than just Shield when that does happen.

But there were so many choices, he didn’t know which Pokemon he wanted to catch.

“Maybe I can find an Abra on the way?” Lucas muttered knowing how rare they were, but when they evolved they were pretty powerful.

Psychic Pokemon were one of the strongest types out there after all.

And it would give him an advantage against Barry after Igneous evolves.

“But I need to catch a Pokemon that would help beat the first Gym, Shield can’t beat all of the rock types.” Lucas knew he could possibly find a Machop north of Oreburgh, but catching one would be a different story.

He can’t catch too many because he didn’t have enough money to feed more than three at the moment.

‘ _Good thing I’m not looking for a Snorlax._ ’ Lucas chuckled at the thought of trying to feed a Pokemon who had the equivalent of a black hole for a stomach.

Giving a yawn, Lucas glanced at the time only to wince at how late it was getting.

He needed to get up early tomorrow.

But he wanted to plan out which Pokemon to catch.

After a bit however, he sighed and put the map up.

He’ll definitely catch a Pokemon, no use in fretting over which one to catch and how to do it.

He had all the time in the world right now.

**_To Be Continued…_ **

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Shield (Turtwig)

Male

Lv. 10

Type: Grass

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle, Withdraw and Absorb.

(Barry)

Igneous (Chimchar)

Male

Lv. 12

Type: Fire

Ability: Blaze.

Moves: Scratch and Leer.

? (Starly)

Male

Lv. 9

Type: Normal/Flying

Moves: Tackle, Growl and Quick Attack

? (Budew)

Female

Lv. 5

Type: Grass/Poison

Ability: Poison Point

Moves: Absorb and Growth

(Dawn)

Piplup

Male

Lv. 11

Type: Water

Ability: Torrent.

Moves: Pound, Growl, Bubble and Water Sport

**_Journal Entry # 3_ **

Geez, tracking Barry down should be a freaking sport at this point. Seriously, I would never have found him if I didn’t have help from Dawn.

… I’m still concerned about how Dawn asked about if friends did what Barry and I did all the time, but do I ask her about that the next time I see her? Do I leave it alone?

I have no idea how to approach it and I don’t want to ask Mom for advice because that would be pretty awkward to do, especially if Mom insinuates anything again.

Still it’s a long way to Oreburgh and I’m already uncertain if I want to go simply because of the distance.

But I did promise to go on a journey and no one said they were easy.

At least I have a Town Map so it should be impossible to get lost and I have plenty of food if I stretch it out.

… Now I’m worried if Barry has enough considering how impatient he can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this chapter took freaking forever, I am so sorry about that.
> 
> I’ve had a lot going on for it and so much I wanted to do along with resisting the urge to do a Pokemon X story because unlike this one I have the game file just about finished with all the captures planned.
> 
> More than that I’m still doing the Bug Fic which is having trouble with the next chapter as I don’t want to screw it up.
> 
> But still a lot showed in this chapter including a certain tidbit about Dawn which will be expanded upon as the story continues.
> 
> I will try to get the next chapter out sooner, I can promise that.


	5. Oreburgh Gate

Lucas groaned as he sat down next to a small pond, his legs aching from doing nothing but walking for the last three days.

He was almost to Oreburgh City but he was regretting this already.

Seriously how do people travel all the time like this?!

Shield sat down next to him looking more bored than anything else.

They did face a few trainers on the way, but they usually had one or two Pokemon such as Starly or Shinx and none of them were too strong for the grass type, especially since none of the Starly knew Wing Attack.

And none of the Pokemon that Lucas ran into caught his interest. He did find an Abra but it teleported before he could attempt to catch it.

So he wasn’t doing so well on that front.

Grabbing a small pebble, Lucas tossed it in the pond, watching it sink instead of skipping like he intended.

To think it’s been five days since he left home for this journey.

It’s certainly been an experience that’s for sure.

It was also strange not to have Barry around all the time like when they were younger, the blond would always visit every day unless he was sick or either of them were grounded.

Speaking of which, Lucas had no doubt that Barry most likely made it to Oreburgh by this point given how he most likely would’ve ran there the whole time as opposed to Lucas with walking.

And he wasn’t joking, Barry had so much energy that Lucas wouldn’t be surprised if he really did do that.

Shaking his head, Lucas pulled out the map to see that tomorrow he should make it to a small cave known as Oreburgh Gate which will take one more day to get through.

Once that was done he’ll be in Oreburgh where he could finally take a shower and sleep in a real bed.

Thankfully Oreburgh Gate wasn’t a maze like Mt. Coronet, so it was just a straight shot unless he veered off the path given how there was an underground lake.

… There were actually Psyducks in that lake and having a water type would be useful.

Especially since Psyducks and their evolution Golducks were known for being able to use psychic attacks despite not being a psychic type.

And they don’t know teleport like Abra so it would be easier to catch them and it would still be a good counter to Barry’s Chimchar.

Pausing to take stock of his supplies, Lucas saw that he was running low and he knew that if he did go to check the underground lake out then he would need to be quick and be sure to not get lost.

‘ _ I’ll leave trail markers. _ ’ Lucas told himself before hearing a yawn, making him turn to see Shield taking a small nap, not going inside his shell for once.

Guess he was just as tired.

‘ _ We’ll rest for an hour before we continue. _ ’

* * *

The next day, Lucas stood outside of the cave, a nervous look on his face, Shield back on his head, the grass starter eyeing it curiously.

‘ _ Come on, you can do this. _ ’ Lucas thought, trying to psych himself up for going inside of a cave for the first time. ‘ _ Just go in, catch a Psyduck and get out. _ ’

Easy.

Swallowing a bit, Lucas stepped into the cave, pulling out a flashlight to turn on given how dark the inside was, even with the small lights that were set up at certain points in the cave.

He could see some Geodudes that looked at him curiously, but on seeing Shield they took off, not wanting to fight the grass type.

Something that Lucas could understand given the type advantage that Shield had and he was grateful for that.

He’d rather not fight anything unless he had to.

Though now that he thought about it, a rock type would’ve been pretty handy.

But he already planned to catch one Pokemon already.

After an hour, he came to a fork in the road where he saw a sign pointing towards where Oreburgh would be.

So he turned to the otherside, knowing that it would lead to the underground lake.

As he walked however, Lucas heard a loud shriek.

Tensing up in surprise, Lucas snapped towards it and before he knew it he began to run towards the sound, hearing a commotion.

That was when he came across a Zubat trying to escape a group of Geodudes and he immediately understood what was happening.

Survival of the fittest.

Geodudes were known for eating small rocks inside of the cave, the minerals helping their rock-like exterior grow stronger, but they were known for eating Zubats as well.

Just like how flying types eat bug types at times.

It was cruel, but that was how nature worked.

The Zubat shrieked again as it tried to crawl away, the small blue furred bat being desperate to survive, the voice showing how young it was.

A young Pokemon that was no doubt separated from their flock.

Easy prey for the Geodudes.

He shouldn’t fault the Geodudes, they were just trying to survive.

But Lucas didn’t care right now.

“Shield, Absorb!” Lucas ordered, not wanting to do nothing, his voice catching the Geodudes off guard while Turtwig shot in there, latching onto one of the Geodudes as he bit down, glowing green to show the move working.

The Geodude went down instantly, leaving six more.

The Zubat was forgotten, leaving it to crawl away as the Geodudes looked at Lucas in rage at having their hunt interrupted.

Seeing them glow, their stone-like features gleaming after a bit, Lucas realized too late at how they were using Rock Polish and became a blur that slammed into Shield, sending him flying back before he was hit again and again.

These Geodudes weren’t playing around.

One even went to get him, but he was surprised when another shriek from the injured Zubat that didn’t get too far intervened, showing it to be Supersonic, the attack confusing the Geodude enough to where it missed Lucas and slammed into the wall, taking itself out.

The wild Zubat breathed in and out, using its echolocation to try and get out of the crossfire, but it made its way to Lucas given how the trainer did save it from being eaten, still crawling and that was when Lucas noticed that its wing was damaged.

So he scooped the Zubat up, feeling the small hooks on the end of its wing tighten into his arms in fear before relaxing as the Zubat once more used echolocation to see who picked it up.

Looking back towards Shield, he saw that the Turtwig managed to get off another Absorb, healing himself and bringing the total number of Geodudes down to four.

Still tough but manageable.

“Water Gun!” A voice shouted from behind him as a jet of water shot through, hitting the rest of the Geodudes causing them to flee. “Are you alright?”

Lucas turned to see the new arrival was a young girl in a green camping uniform and a green hat over her black hair.

Next to her was a Psyduck, the yellow feathered duck Pokemon holding its head as if staving off an oncoming Headache, while a Budew trailed behind her.

Swallowing nervously, Lucas gave a nod, his legs nearly giving out in relief at what just happened.

That was terrifying.

* * *

Moments later the girl, who was named Diana, took Lucas back to her camp which was near the exact same lake that he was trying to find, helping him out by patching the Bat's wing.

Zubat hissed in pain at the gauze being wrapped around its wing after the Potion was used, but kept still, especially when it was given an Oran Berry.

“Alright, give her a day and she’ll be flying again in no time.” Diana said with a smile before giving Lucas a look. “You were an idiot, you know that right?”

Lucas said nothing in response to that, knowing that she was right.

He acted without thinking. This was something one would expect from Barry.

But seeing the Zubat in pain like that, he couldn’t not do anything.

Seeing him being silent, Diana sighed and shook her head. “So you lost or something?” She asked trying to figure out why he was so far down in this cave.

It was easy for her to be here because she loved exploring and camping.

But this guy barely had any supplies.

“Um… I wanted to catch a Psyduck.” Lucas admitted, looking away from Diana, his anxiety kicking in. “Then I came across what happened-.”

He trailed off from there, allowing for Diana to see what was going on.

“So you took on a horde of Geodudes with only a Turtwig?” She asked in a deadpanned tone before sighing. “Well at least you had the advantage in type to balance out how outnumbered you were.”

If he went in there with a fire or flying type then he would’ve been screwed before she showed up.

The Zubat shrieked as it crawled her way to Lucas and latched onto his ankle, tilting her head at him to give a smaller cry, no doubt trying to ‘see’ him in her own way.

Seeing that, Diana smiled. “You sure you don’t want to catch her? I think she adores you.”

Not hard to see why given how Lucas did save her from being eaten.

“I-.” Lucas went quiet in thought.

He didn’t plan to catch the Zubat, but he won’t deny that it would make a good addition to his team.

A Poison and Flying type and Crobats were notorious for being pretty strong.

Plus her echolocation would help him avoid getting lost in future caves so that would be a safe way to go through Mt. Coronet in the future.

So there were a lot of positives to adding this Zubat to his team.

And he would still try to catch a Psyduck before leaving.

That would leave him with three Pokemon.

Slowly he pulled out an empty Pokeball and clicked a button, activating it. “Zubat, do you want to come with me?” He asked, leaving it up to her.

In response to that, the Zubat slowly climbed his leg and up his arm before tapping the Pokeball with one of its hooks, letting itself be sucked in.

“I guess that answers your question.” Diana said, seeing Lucas smile at his new Pokemon. “Troublesome situation aside, congrats on your first capture.”

“Thank you.” Lucas said to Diana right before the Pokeball opened itself with Zubat letting herself out, latching onto his chest immediately.

That was followed by Shield jumping up to bite his head, not wanting to be left out with Lucas wondering how he got stuck with two overly affectionate Pokemon, the sight was enough for Diana to chuckle.

It was rather adorable to see something like this.

“Hopefully this doesn’t become a running theme.” Lucas muttered, not wanting to have more Pokemon do the same thing.

Eventually, Shield let go, while Zubat just climbed until she was perched on his shoulder.

“Still thank you, if it wasn’t for you that could’ve gotten messier.” Lucas said, showing his appreciation for Diana intervening.

Though he had no doubt that Shield would’ve won in the end given how they did take down half of them before Diana showed up.

“It’s not a problem, it’s good training for my team.” Diana waved the thanks off rather easily. “Besides it’s not the first time I intervened when someone was in over their head.”

“Does that happen often?” Lucas asked in surprise.

“Not in the way it did with you, but a lot of rookies do come in here without being too prepared, it’s one of the reasons I hang around here.” Diana revealed, surprising Lucas. “Just yesterday there was this kid who ran in here, startling a ton of wild Pokemon into being aggressive.”

“... Was this guy blond and did he have a Chimchar?”

Diana blinked and glanced at Lucas in surprise. “You know him?”

Lucas just hung his head.

It really says something when this doesn’t surprise him.

At least he knew how far behind Barry he was.

Seeing how he was being, Diana decided to let the matter drop.

Instead, she began to go through her bag, checking the supplies she did have, knowing that she would need to go to Oreburgh soon to resupply.

But she did have the time.

“Want some help in getting that Psyduck?” She offered, earning a surprised look from Lucas.

Before he could answer however, Zubat gave a loud shriek that was drowned out by an even louder screech, a large shape descending on them, forcing the trainers to dive out of the way as a new Pokemon landed on the ground, snarling at them.

It was a large blue bat-like Pokemon with purple membranes in its wings, two slit like eyes glaring daggers at the trainers as its giant mouth showcased its fangs that were leaking with poison.

“A Golbat?” Lucas asked, wondering why it was attacking them.

Diana however put the pieces together rather easily. “I think we just found the father of your Zubat.”

Lucas blinked before realizing how this looked. “Oh.”

The Golbat snarled their way despite how the Zubat was trying to talk him down, Shield got in front of Lucas protectively, Diana’s Psyduck and Budew doing the same thing for their trainer.

Golbat went on the offensive with a Screech to disorientate everyone before using Wing Attack to send Shield flying, ducking when a Water Gun went over his head before using Supersonic to mess with the Psyduck.

That Supersonic however was countered by Zubat’s, catching the Golbat off guard as he looked at his offspring in shock, allowing for Shield to slam into him with a Tackle, despite how the Zubat was trying to get the fighting to stop.

Golbat retaliated with a Bite on Shield who quickly retreated into his shell with Withdraw, upping his defense in the process right when Budew landed a Stun Spore on the Golbat, paralyzing him.

Psyduck ran in there with a scratch, not using Water Gun due to how it would wash it away, forcing Golbat to let go of Shield who landed yet another tackle, taking the bat out.

Seeing the Golbat unconscious, both trainers breathed a sigh of relief given how that escalated rather quickly, but Zubat jumped off of Lucas’s shoulder, clumsily flying due to its injury before crawling towards the Golbat.

A flash of guilt washed over Lucas in how this escalated considering how Golbat was only trying to protect its offspring.

But that guilt disappeared when Diana threw a Pokeball and caught the Golbat before she saw his surprised look. “What? We need to get him healed and this way we have a way to stop him from attacking us that doesn’t involve knocking him out.”

It would give them a chance to fix the situation.

Lucas couldn’t find much fault in that logic as Zubat looked down in sadness.

While Diana was getting the supplies to heal the Golbat, Lucas took that moment to scan Zubat with the Pokedex.

‘ **_Pokemon #041_ **

**_Species: Zubat_ **

**_Gender: Female_ **

**_Height: 2’07_ **

**_Weight: 16.5_ **

**_Ability: Inner Focus_ **

**_Moves: Leech Life and Supersonic_ **

**_Info: Even though it has no eyes, this Pokemon can see through echolocation via the ultrasonic waves it emits from its mouth. Its dislike of sunlight ensures that this Pokemon remains deep within caves until nightfall_ **

**_Needed for Evolution: Experience._ ** ’

“Huh.” Lucas put the Pokedex up, wanting to take Zubat's mind off of what happened. “Hey Zubat, do you want a nickname?”

The Zubat glanced his way in surprise.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want one.” Lucas reassured the Zubat.

After a few moments, the Zubat gave a small cry, slowly crawling back towards him.

It did however turn its way back to the Golbat, its echolocation picking him up, but Zubat forced herself to head towards Lucas who crossed his arms in thought.

“How about Echo?” He asked, making her tilt her head in confusion. “It’s kind of a lazy one, but it does fit with you.”

Zubat mulled the name over in her head before giving a nod, not being too picky about her name.

“Alright, Echo it is.” Lucas said, gently picking Echo up, lightly scratching under her chin. “Don’t worry about Golbat, he’ll be okay.”

They weren’t strong enough to do long lasting damage to the Pokemon, so he just needed time to heal.

Shield gave a small cry, reassuring his new teammate in his own way and from the small noise Echo made it seemed to be working.

It was enough for Lucas to smile, happy that he did intervene with the Geodudes now.

A slight hiss made them glance towards the Golbat seeing that it woke up due to Diana using a Revive, though he was too injured to do nothing more than glare at the two trainers despite how one of them was healing him, its glare softening up as Echo slowly approached him after jumping out of Lucas’s arms.

‘ _ Hopefully Echo can get rid of the misunderstanding. _ ’ Lucas thought, turning away from the conversation that was happening.

Instead he looked over the lake, amazed at how much light was in here despite being completely underground.

A sight one would usually see on TV if Lucas had to compare it to something.

“I wouldn’t get too close, there are Gyarados in the lake.” Diana warned Lucas who froze up. “They are in the deep parts but it’s not unusual for one or two to be around the surface.”

“Is it connected to the Ocean?” Lucas asked, unsure of how else a Gyarados could be in here.

“No, some idiots released a group of Magikarps in this lake and it took off from there.” Diana explained, a hint of annoyance showing. “It happened sometime last year.”

She finished up on the Golbat who looked a bit more subdued after hearing Echo’s account and shuffled awkwardly.

“Alright, you’ll be a bit sore, but that’s the worst of it.” Diana told the Golbat with a smile, that fell as she looked hesitant. “If you want I can release you considering the situation.”

She didn’t want to keep this Golbat if he would rather be wild.

The Golbat gave a nod showing that he did prefer to be wild.

So without another word, Diana opened up the Pokeball where a button could be seen inside of it and pressed it as the connection between Golbat and the Pokeball was severed, a blue light surrounding Golbat.

Now back to being a wild Pokemon, Golbat shook his head and gave Echo a few light hisses before glaring at Lucas who blinked in confusion.

It then took off flying, disappearing into the dark.

“I think he was warning you to treat her right.” Diana sounded very amused while Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Just what I needed.”

But he wasn’t complaining.

The situation was sorted out and he got a new Pokemon for the team he’s putting together, even if it wasn’t the Pokemon he was looking for.

All in all, it was a good day.

* * *

Needless to say after that event, Lucas had enough of the cave so Diana was showing him the way out given how she needed to head out herself, the two making some small talk as they continued.

“So you camp down there while looking for gems?” Lucas asked in surprise, the two were uninterrupted due to how their Pokemon being out kept other wild Pokemon away.

Though Echo remained on his shoulder, not being able to fly well at the moment, her hooks latched on his shoulder as she made some small noises using her sonar to make sure they were going the right way.

“Mostly pearls, you can find them and bits of stardust down there, get enough of them and the camping supplies pay for themselves.”

Wow, that was rather interesting.

“What about you? I take it you’re heading for the gym?” Diana guessed given how the League was the number one goal for countless trainers.

“Well my friend wants to challenge them and he wants me to be his rival.” Lucas left it off there.

Diana tilted her head. “He wants you to be his rival? Doesn’t sound like it's what you want.”

Ignoring how she nailed it, Lucas just shrugged. “I don’t know what I want out of this journey, so I’m playing it be ear for now.”

Who knows, maybe he’ll actually enjoy the gym challenge? Or maybe he’ll find his calling on the road?

He’s in no hurry.

Shield came to a stop, looking ready for a fight, surprising the trainers before they saw a wild Psyduck was just watching them, holding its head in a usual fashion before it gave them a tilted head look.

Lucas blinked.

Okay, he couldn’t find one down near the lake, but one just happens to appear when they were trying to leave the cave?

“Twig.” Shield called out only for the Psyduck to blink right before firing a water gun at him.

It didn’t do that much damage obviously, but Shield was less than amused before he went and launched himself at the Psyduck, hitting him with an absorb that made the Pokemon cry out before using a scratch.

“This Psyduck is rather aggressive.” Diana noted given how it attacked without provocation.

Psyducks usually kept to themselves or were more peaceful.

Lucas didn’t say anything, seeing how much damage the scratch was doing in comparison to the water gun and he knew that the Psyduck was a pretty strong one.

The fact that it has Water Gun as a move only added to it and would give him another advantage against fire types.

So he waited until Shield got off another Absorb before throwing a Pokeball, taking the Psyduck by surprise right before it clicked immediately showing the capture to be successful.

That’s two Pokemon he caught today.

“Thanks Shield.” Lucas said, seeing that the absorb fixed some of the damage that Psyduck caused, picking up the Pokeball to place on his belt, activating the stasis function on the Pokeball.

“Not going to heal him?” Diana asked, seeing that.

“We’re close to Oreburgh at this point and he’s in stasis.” Lucas didn’t see any harm in doing that. “We can use the Pokemon Center to heal him and I’ll go from there.”

Though he was uncertain on if Psyduck would take being a part of the team he's putting together or not.

“Fair enough, we should be there in a few hours.” Diana said knowing the caves like the back of her hand.

**_To Be Continued…_ **

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Shield (Turtwig)

Male

Lv. 11

Type: Grass

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle, Withdraw and Absorb.

Echo (Zubat)

Female

Lv. 5

Type: Poison/Flying

Ability: Inner Focus

Moves: Leech Life and Super Sonic

? (Psyduck)

Male

Lv. 10

Type: Water

Ability: Damp

Moves: Scratch, Water Sport, Tail Whip and Water Gun

**_Journal Entry # 4_ **

My first experience with a cave… It was something alright.

I didn’t know what to expect but it was nothing like how I imagined.

Echo is pretty clingy, even more affectionate than Shield is, not that I blame her, she is pretty young and nearly killed. I’ll have to make sure not to send her out against a Geodude in the future. No clue how Psyduck will react or if he’ll want a nickname.

Still if it wasn’t for Diana I would’ve been in trouble, sure Shield could’ve handled the other Geodudes, but the Golbat would’ve destroyed us if it wasn’t for her.

It’s probably a sign that I need to take training the others a bit more seriously. I should also look more into learning more about medicine in case something happens and I don’t have any potions?

Maybe I can ask Diana for tips on that front? Along with camping tips before we go our separate ways?

But the view of that underground lake more than made up for everything that happened, it was like something out of a book or a movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this took awhile and I’m so sorry for the long wait, I’ve been more focused on my bug trainer story, but I finally got around to it and Lucas both made a new friend and caught two Pokemon.
> 
> First things first, Diana isn’t an OC or a future traveling companion. She’s one of the trainers you fight in Oreburgh Gate in the game with her Diamond/Pearl team. I figured I could try to give the game characters a bit more to them rather then leave them as trainers you don’t see again. It's my way of making the story feel more alive and hopefully you enjoyed how Diana is.
> 
> I’m also taking a bit of a darker approach to Pokemon with how some of them eat others, it is implied that Pokemon have to defend themselves from Predators in their Pokedex entries, such as Caterpie having a stink mechanism to deter them. So why not have Geodudes being predators to Zubats?
> 
> Then you have the Golbat fight, that actually happened during my playthrough of Platinum after I caught Echo, I immediately ran into a lv. 10 Golbat which threw me off because I didn’t know you could run into one in the lower floor. I made a joke about it being Echo’s father when it happened before I realized I could use that random encounter for this story, so hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Finally you have Psyduck who I might be giving the nickname I have in the game, but I might also change it because honestly I don’t know if I want him nicknamed Darkwing in this story-I named him that long before I decided to write a Sinnoh story based on my playthrough so it didn’t bother me at the time. So I'll need some time to come up with a different one.
> 
> And I do have Lucas’s team already decided. I won’t reveal what they are yet but all together counting the three he has now he will have nine Pokemon, I swap between them in the game to make it a bit more challenging on myself and it’s pretty fun to use more than just six.


	6. Descending into the Mines

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief the moment he and Diana exited Oreburgh Gate to see the city itself while the sun was getting ready to set.

It felt good to breathe fresh air again.

Diana just gave him an amused look, remembering her first time exiting the cave before Echo gave a small cry, burrowing her head beneath her wings due to the light.

Giving a slight wince, Lucas returned Echo, making a note to try and train her up to be out in the daytime for future battles.

“If you continue down this path you’ll find the Pokemon Center quite easily.” Diana told Lucas, pointing in the direction he should go. “The Gym is that way as well if you want to give that a try.”

“Got it.” Lucas gave a nod, appreciating the directions. “And thank you.”

“It’s no problem, it was nice to travel with someone for a short time, next time we meet we should battle if you’re up for it.” Diana offered with Lucas smiling to show that he agreed.

It would definitely be an interesting battle.

But for now he needed to train and work on bonding with Psyduck along with Echo’s confidence.

As they parted ways, Lucas looked around the city that was well known for its mining activities, knowing that the nearby mine was as good a place as any to train up Shield and Psyduck while the small route to the north sounded like the perfect place to train up Echo.

He’ll have to restock some food supplies as well and make better preparations now that he had three Pokemon to feed rather than one.

Along with finding out their preferred flavor so he can make it in advance.

But does he have enough money?

After thinking for a moment, Lucas came to a decision to swallow his pride and ask his Mom for help on that front.

While he did want to go through his journey in his own way without help, he didn’t have too much money at the moment and his Pokemon were more important than his pride.

Besides, he can work on paying her back when this is all over-.

**_*Thud*_ **

“... I really shouldn’t be surprised.” Lucas muttered as he was walking past another path when Barry came flying down it, the two were now on the ground due to how they collided yet again. “Have the words walking ever cross your mind?”

“Of course it does, I just don’t like wasting time.” Barry answered immediately jumping up. “When did you get to Oreburgh?”

“Five minutes ago.” Lucas muttered, pushing himself up and wiping the dirt from his shirt, that action drawing Barry’s attention to his belt where he could see three Pokeballs.

“Alright you’re building up a team!” Barry looked very excited before pulling out a Pokeball. “Let’s battle!”

Lucas just gave him a look. “I just got out of the cave.”

He was in no mood to battle right now.

Barry deflated at that, actually looking sheepish due to not thinking about that. “Right, right. So are you going to challenge Roark? If so then you might have to wait a few days.”

That caught Lucas’s attention. “Why’s that?”

“Oh he’s down in the mines, apparently he works down there regularly every few days and the Gym is only open at least three days of the week.” Barry crossed his arms in annoyance. “I need to wait as well.”

Lucas grinned, knowing how much Barry hated waiting.

With his energy waiting was torture.

“Anyways see ya Lucas, I’m going to go train!” Barry took off, kicking up dust as Lucas chuckled before coughing due to the dust.

At least he was putting his endless energy to good use, training was always a good way to pass the time for him.

Now if only Barry can stop running into him.

He swears, Barry is going to injure him someday.

* * *

It was nighttime as Lucas was in the Pokemon Center room that he rented out for the next few days, Echo was out and on the desk along with Shield, her wings now healed due to treatment from Nurse Joy.

Psyduck was still in his Pokeball, Lucas figured he could try and connect with him the next day given how he didn’t want to let the Pokemon out in this room and make a mess.

But he did take out the Pokedex and scanned him.

‘ **_Pokemon #054_ **

**_Species: Psyduck_ **

**_Gender: Male_ **

**_Height: 2’07_ **

**_Weight: 43.2_ **

**_Ability: Damp_ **

**_Moves: Scratch, Water Sport, Tail Whip and Water Gun_ **

**_Info: A Pokemon that suffers from constant headaches, Psyducks are well known for their use of psychic powers despite not remembering them. Note: The more painful the headache, the stronger the psychic ability._ **

**_Needed for Evolution: Experience._ ** ’

“That’s useful to know.” Lucas muttered not knowing that the strength of the psychic attacks came from how painful their headache was.

Though he had no desire to take advantage of that part. He’ll work on the psychic abilities when he’s a Golduck.

For now he’ll just focus on the water abilities and on bonding with him.

Still his ability is useful whenever he faces a Pokemon with self-destruct or explosion, that’s for sure. But in return it’s even weaker against electric Pokemon so that’s something he’ll have to watch out for.

“At least he has Water Gun, that’ll make training him in the mines easy, same with Shield and Absorb.” Lucas leaned back in thought, seeing Shield smirk.

Echo on the other hand is limited until she can learn Bite and Wing Attack and mastering them would take time.

Leech Life isn’t that good of a move and while Supersonic is very useful, it’s limited in what it could do.

Luckily he has just the item to help.

Return would make a good move for Echo to use in a battle, especially when she bonds more with Lucas and eventually becomes a Crobat.

But now he just needed to make a call.

So he reached over and grabbed the phone on the computer and typed in the number.

In a few rings, Johanna picked up.

“Lucas!” Johanna greeted, looking happy to see her son after a week of silence. “I take it you’re in Oreburgh?”

“I am, sorry I didn’t call the last few days.” Lucas apologized only for Echo to cry out, trying to find the other person she could hear.

“Oh and who’s this?” Johanna asked, seeing the Zubat looking around.

“This is Echo, she joined the team in Oreburgh Gate after a run in with some Geodudes.” Lucas explained, reaching over to scratch her head, watching as the Zubat leaned in to the touch. “She helped immensely in avoiding wild Pokemon.”

Echo gave a cry of agreement before latching its hooks on his hand to keep it there.

Johanna gave a chuckle at seeing that.

“I also caught a Psyduck, but I haven’t tried bonding with him yet,” Lucas finally pulled his hand free from Echo despite her sad noises to rub the back of his neck. “I plan to spend the next few days working on that before I challenge the gym.”

“The Gym? I take it Barry talked you into it?” Johanna asked with a knowing smirk given how the two were.

Lucas didn’t have to say anything given how embarrassed he looked.

“Well I think it’s a splendid idea, you were always interested in watching battles as a kid, I remember seeing you so amazed when Kanto’s new champion was Red.”

“Of course I was, he became Champion at the age of ten, no one’s done that before.” Lucas said, shaking his head with a grin, remembering that.

It showed that it didn’t matter how long someone’s been a trainer, if they put their mind to it and worked hard enough they can go far.

That was how Lucas interpreted that as.

Shield calmly walked up and jumped on the desk before laying next to Echo, making a few small noises with the bat pokemon, tilting her head curiously at him.

“How have things been back home?” Lucas asked given how last time they only spoke about what he’s seen on his journey.

“It’s been pretty quiet without you and Barry running around here, June comes over for tea and we talk.” Johanna answered rather easily. “With both Barry and Palmer out and about she gets lonely.”

Lucas went quiet on hearing that, knowing that Johanna was the same. Especially when she only had Lucas after his father left.

So he was feeling a little guilty about leaving her on her own, even if she had company from June.

But he knew that his Mom would tell him not to worry about that, so he kept quiet about it.

“How about you, have you been getting enough to eat?” Johanna asked in a concerned tone with Lucas fidgeting.

“About that,” He began with Johanna now looking a little concerned. “I don’t really have any utensils to cook with and not enough money to buy them.”

He trailed off there with Johanna getting the message.

“If you need to borrow money, you can just ask.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to bother you about that.” Lucas admitted, earning a frown from Johanna.

“You really do need to learn that asking for help isn’t a bother.” She said a bit sharply, earning a wince from Lucas. “But I’m happy you did bring this up.”

It was already proof that this journey was doing him some good.

“I’ll transfer some money to your Trainer Card, it’ll be enough for you to get the utensils and the food.”

“Thanks Mom.” Lucas said despite feeling embarrassed for having to borrow money. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Lucas, just focus on enjoying your journey.” Johanna admonished him. “You don’t have to worry about paying me back.”

Truth be told, Lucas disagreed.

It was just how he was.

But he didn’t argue, knowing that it was a losing battle.

* * *

The next day, Lucas hummed to himself as he was buying the right cooking ware and the ingredients to make food that would last them awhile.

He was looking into making poffins as well, the type that would keep a Pokemon well fed for days on end for whenever they needed to travel pretty far.

It was a Poffin made specifically for a Snorlax to help keep trainers from going bankrupt, so Lucas knew it was effective.

He was also purchasing a Recipe Book to help work on his culinary skills.

After all, while he knew how to cook it was just basic stuff that his Mom taught him, omelets, fried rice and cookies, that sort of thing.

So improving it would help make the journey a bit smoother and to be honest he did enjoy cooking at times.

Adding another ingredient to the basket he had, Lucas came across some specially made Pokemon food for different types and grabbed a can for water Pokemon.

Perhaps the first official meeting with Psyduck will go better if he’s offered food?

Though he’ll be sure to have Shield out to intervene just in case it didn’t work.

“Still have plenty left over, I’ll buy a few Potions and finish up with the shopping.”

The rest of the money will be saved up to resupply the food once he runs low.

* * *

Finally Lucas was on Route 207 to the north of Oreburgh City and he was gripping Psyduck’s Pokeball with a cautious look.

It was time to finally start getting to know his newest member.

So giving Shield a nod to let him know to be ready, Lucas let the Psyduck out, watching as the water type gripped his head in a typical Psyduck fashion before looking around and locking eyes with Shield, immediately firing a Water Gun in his direction.

Shield just sat there and took it with a deadpanned look, showing that he didn’t mind the water that much.

“Psyduck.” Lucas called out, making the Pokemon look at him.

In his hands he held out some Pokemon food that came from the can, giving the Pokemon a smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lucas your Trainer.”

Psyduck narrowed his eyes and fired another Water Gun, this time at Lucas’s face.

Thankfully due to the low strength, it didn’t hurt that bad, but it was enough for Shield to slam into the Psyduck with a Tackle.

“Shield!” Lucas shook his wet head to show that it was okay despite how the Grass Starter disagreed, before looking back at Psyduck. “Look I don’t know why you attacked Shield back in the cave, but he beat you and I caught you, I’m traveling Sinnoh and I need a strong water type Pokemon.”

He was hoping to appeal to his strength, but Psyduck just scoffed and turned away, thinking that he didn’t need this Trainer.

Lucas sighed at how that went.

It was to be expected given how not every Pokemon would accept him immediately.

Shield was a given due to how friendly he was and Echo adored him, so he was lucky in that regard.

Thinking on that it made sense that Psyduck wouldn’t accept him like those two.

“I’m not going to give up on you,” Lucas told the Psyduck. “In a few days we’ll be challenging the Oreburgh Gym and the Leaders are incredibly strong.”

Just like that, he saw a look of interest on Psyduck's face.

“Stick with me and we’ll find some strong opponents.” Lucas promised him. “Just give me one chance to prove it.”

Now Psyduck looked conflicted.

It really did want to fight strong opponents, that’s why it took on the Turtwig after seeing the debacle in the lower parts of the cave with the Golbat.

So it took a shortcut known only to the Pokemon to head it off near the exit.

But Psyduck was too prideful to accept help in getting stronger, he wanted to do it on his own.

So he turned away, not accepting the deal.

Lucas felt his shoulders drop before he returned Psyduck, thinking he would try later.

That was when Shield jumped up and bit his head, to try and take his mind off of that.

“Perhaps I should’ve nicknamed you after your biting habit instead?” Lucas muttered, a hint of fond amusement in his tone.

* * *

Hours later, Lucas found himself at the entrance to Oreburgh Mines, Echo back on his shoulder to help him navigate the place.

He already used the Return TM on Echo to give her a good move to use and was ready to start training up his team.

While Psyduck was going to be difficult, he was going to at least train up Shield and Echo to give him more of an advantage against the Gym. Perhaps along the way he’ll reach Psyduck.

But for now he walked into the mines, seeing some Geodudes that eyed him, or rather Echo, but left them alone despite how Echo shook at sensing them.

They even saw a few Zubat flying around further in, that was good in training Echo up, using Return to take them down given how it was a lot better than Leech Life.

Echo did her job of navigating him rather easily, using her sonar to gain an understanding of the area before lightly digging one of her hooks into his shoulder to let him know if he was heading for a deadend or not.

He did end up battling a few Geodudes however, Shield taking care of them with Absorb rather easily, not having a problem.

The problem however came from Psyduck who completely ignored every command that Lucas tried to give, going all in with Water Gun or scratch depending on the opponent.

Sure he won just about every encounter, but he got hit quite a few times despite Lucas trying to work with him.

‘ _ I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. _ ’ Lucas thought after the fifth battle with Psyduck, using a Potion to heal him up.

Thankfully he accepted that bit of help, but he refused to look at Lucas.

He tried just about everything to reach Psyduck in the last few moments.

Treating him with respect, promising to make him stronger, trying to give him food, even letting him fight by himself in the beginning before telling him he did great despite how he could’ve done better at some points.

But nothing was working.

Maybe he was just too prideful to accept any form of help or compliments?

Does that mean he has to damage his pride in order to get him to listen?

Hopefully not.

However he will keep that option on the table if this gets worse.

Checking his Pokedex, he was surprised to see that Echo apparently learned the move Astonish, adding a ghost move to her arsenal along with Shield learning Razor Leaf and smiled.

At least everyone was getting stronger.

There were a few miners that were working, some of them even challenged Lucas to a battle.

They weren’t that touch compared to his team, having their own Zubats, Geodudes and Machops.

But they were good training for Shield and Echo.

Eventually they made it to the lower parts of the mine as Lucas had to return Shield and Echo who were getting exhausted from all of the battles.

So the only Pokemon that wasn’t exhausted at this point was Psyduck.

Who just finished off another Geodude without listening to Lucas.

This was getting ridiculous.

Seeing Psyduck walk ahead, Lucas wondered if he should just return him and find a place to rest up before exiting the cave or not, but they made it to a very open area that was hollowed out with countless minecarts set up to haul stones and gems out of the mine.

Gems that sparkled off the lights that were set up, giving the room quite the amazing view.

“Starting to wish I brought a camera on my journey.” Lucas breathed out in awe.

He has been finding these beautiful locations and it’s only the beginning of his journey.

Psyduck said nothing, just keeping his distance before his stomach growled, catching Lucas’s attention.

So he tried again with the same food, watching as Psyduck stubbornly turned away.

“You do know I’m going to keep trying right?” Lucas asked only for Psyduck to Water Gun his face yet again.

Taking a deep breath to keep himself calm, Lucas wiped the water off only for the ground to shake.

That made him stumble while Psyduck looked around cautiously before a giant Pokemon burst out of the ground with a roar.

Lucas fell on his butt in shock at seeing an Onix for the first time.

Slowly he took out the Pokedex and scanned the Onix.

‘ **_Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. It burrows underground at 50 MPH, causing tremors in mountain-like areas. As it burrows it eats massive amounts of soil and creates large tunnels._ ** ’

Just looking at it, Lucas had no desire to fight it-.

Psyduck gave a cry and used Water Gun, bringing the Rock Snake’s attention to them.

At that point, Lucas was glaring at Psyduck before having to scream and run as it tried to slam its tail where they were with Psyduck dodging by running in the other direction.

The tremor it created knocked Lucas off his feet, but the Onix was more focused on Psyduck who launched another Water Gun.

In response to this annoyance, Onix gave a screech, the force of the attack knocking the Psyduck back before it wrapped its tail around him.

Seeing that, Lucas wasted no time in sending Shield out, calling for a Razor Leaf.

Despite his exhaustion, Shield listened immediately and launched several sharp leaves from the small twig on its head, the sharp leaves slicing into its stone body, making Onix roar in pain and giving Psyduck enough time to fire another Water Gun in its face, forcing it to drop him.

Landing on the ground, Psyduck shakily got up only for Shield to get in front of him, making the water type glare.

He didn’t need help dammit.

“Razor Leaf again-.” Lucas went to say only for Psyduck to Scratch Shield in an effort to fight on his own, catching Shield off guard due to it being a critical hit.

That does it.

Lucas ran over and grabbed Psyduck by the scruff of his neck, making him cry out in annoyance. “Shield, keep Onix busy.” He said in an angered tone. “Make sure to use Absorb to keep your health up.”

Shield gave a nod, surprised at hearing his tone due to never hearing Lucas sound angry before.

Psyduck struggled to break free, trying to water gun Lucas again, but the trainer ignored it.

“I’ve had it with you,” Lucas told the struggling Psyduck. “This isn’t the time for your disobedience because we could die from this.”

And that was something he needed to get through this featherbrain’s head.

“So listen, you don’t like me and right now you are pushing your luck with me tolerating you,” Lucas told Psyduck. “You're not the strongest Pokemon out there, like it or not you need us to survive this encounter, I don’t care about your pride, you can whine and ignore me all you want, but you don’t attack your teammate, do you understand?”

Psyduck glared at him, not liking what he said.

He didn’t whine.

Shield gave a cry as he was knocked back, injured but not out while the Onix was panting to show that the attacks were wearing it down.

“Shield, back off and use Razor Leaf!” Lucas ordered, Shield giving a nod as he jumped back to do so.

He then turned back to Psyduck who renewed his struggling.

It seemed that he wasn’t going to be getting anywhere with Psyduck, so he returned him despite the protest.

He’ll deal with him once they’re safe.

So he focused on the fight itself, seeing the Onix digging back in the hole only to come up, knocking Shield into the air.

Seeing that, Lucas sent Echo out and ordered a Supersonic, confusing Onix who thrashed around before she flew up and grabbed his shell with the hooks on her thin tails, struggling for a moment to carry Shield who was now glowing, showing that his ability Overgrow was activating.

So Lucas ordered one last Razor Leaf as Echo flew Shield over the Onix, the grass starter listening as even more sharp leaves erupted from the twig, cutting into the Onix, causing it to collapse with a loud thud.

T-They did it.

Lucas nearly collapsed in relief when Echo flew over him, dropping Shield who practically tackled him to the ground before jumping up to bite his head while Echo flew into his chest and latched onto him.

“Ow.” Lucas muttered, but not angry at them.

After dealing with Psyduck, he was just happy these two listened to him.

Clapping could be heard, making the three tense before he could see someone on one of the upper levels who was watching the whole situation.

This guy was in his early twenties, wearing a grey jacket with yellow stripes on the sleeves and bottom part of the jacket, it was unzipped to show a black shirt and he wore black hiking boots and grey pants with a yellow stripe on the pocket. A red helmet covered his cordovan colored hair, his eyes matching the hair color being behind a pair of glasses.

“Nicely done, I was about to intervene before you won.” The guy complimented Lucas who stared at him a bit dumbfounded. “Though you need to work on your Psyduck a bit before you actually battle with him.”

“Tell me about it,” Lucas forced out, pushing the annoyance he felt with that Pokemon down. “Nothing I’m doing is working though.”

“Pokemon like that takes time, but your Turtwig and Zubat are well trained.” The young man said, jumping down much to Lucas’s shock only to see a line connected to his belt that’s normally used for rock climbing.

Once he was close to the ground, the young man uncliped the line before he walked over to Lucas and offered a hand to pull him up, Shield jumping off his head, while Echo tightened her grip on his shirt.

Accepting the hand, Lucas finally realized who this was.

Roark, the Oreburgh Gym Leader.

“I see you know me.” Roark sounded amused, recognizing the look of recognition. “Did you come down here to challenge me?”

Much to his surprise, Lucas shook his head. “No, just training before I attempt to challenge you.” He confessed. “I figured the Mines would be a good area to train.”

“Makes sense, how long have you been a trainer?” Roark asked curiously, looking at his clothes for signs of wear and tear.

“Nine days.” Lucas answered, remembering how long it took for him to get here combined with the two days he spent at home after getting Shield.

The answer surprised Roark, given his widening eyes being any indication before they heard the Onix grumble. “Are you going to catch him?”

Seeing Lucas shake his head, Roark threw his own Pokeball at the Onix, catching him.

“This way we’ll avoid any more incidents in the mine.” He said, feeling relieved that there were no serious injuries from this incident.

That was always a hassle to deal with.

But onto more important things.

Roark glanced back at Lucas, seeing how exhausted his two Pokemon that weren’t disobedient were. “Come on, let’s head back to the city.” He offered to escort Lucas out.

He couldn’t help but be amused by the sigh of relief Lucas exhaled.

To Be Continued…

**_Party Data_ **

(Lucas)

Shield (Turtwig)

Male

Lv. 14

Type: Grass

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Tackle, Withdraw, Absorb and Razor Leaf.

Echo (Zubat)

Female

Lv. 12

Type: Poison/Flying

Ability: Inner Focus

Moves: Leech Life, Supersonic, Return and Astonish

? (Psyduck)

Male

Lv. 13

Type: Water

Ability: Damp

Moves: Scratch, Water Sport, Tail Whip and Water Gun

**_Journal Entry # 5_ **

I’m really starting to regret catching Psyduck. He doesn’t listen to anything, even in a life and death situation, how the heck am I supposed to reach him if he won’t even give me a chance?!

The fact that he attacked Shield only adds to the problem.

Thankfully Shield and Echo don’t give me as much trouble, they’re getting stronger as well, though I’m not sure how well we would do against the Gym whenever we challenge it. I know Roark uses three Pokemon, so I need to reach an understanding with Psyduck before I challenge him.

Because as strong as Shield is getting, he can’t take on all three of Roark’s Pokemon by himself and Echo is at a major disadvantage.

… Perhaps I should skip this Gym and come back to it later?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh another chapter from the Legends of Sinnoh and oh boy who expected for Psyduck to be such a troublemaker? The reason he’s like this is because he’s Rash and Quick Tempered in my game file, so I added to that. And in this story and Trials of a Bug Catcher, I’ve been having the Pokemon they captured be friendly for quite awhile, so having a disobedient one was refreshing to type.
> 
> And while I will show the level in the Party Data at the end of the chapter, I’m not having them in the story, so expect the Pokemon to evolve at odd times, even if the level shows that they’re supposed to at one point. I want to try and add a bit more realism to this story which was why I’m doing that.
> 
> Otherwise Echo would be a Crobat right before the second Gym, which is what happened in the game due to how I battled with her a lot without her losing and I think we can agree that Crobat at that stage of the journey is extremely overpowered.
> 
> But now we had the mines explored, another run in with Barry and Lucas meeting Roark after barely surviving a rampaging Onix where we saw him actually lose his temper with one of his Pokemon in this story for the first time.


End file.
